Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stake in Heritage Financial Corporation $HFWA

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,412,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,422 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.07% of Heritage Financial worth $57,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new stake in Heritage Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $10,775,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its position in Heritage Financial by 71.4% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 120,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,859,000 after purchasing an additional 50,353 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Heritage Financial by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,626,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,531,000 after purchasing an additional 220,273 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its position in Heritage Financial by 112.5% during the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 58,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 30,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Heritage Financial by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 36,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,734 shares in the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HFWA opened at $26.03 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 0.50. Heritage Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $21.32 and a 52 week high of $28.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.37 and a 200 day moving average of $25.43.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $77.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.31 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.50% and a return on equity of 8.71%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is 47.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on HFWA shares. Stephens lifted their target price on Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.50.

Heritage Financial Profile

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) is a bank holding company headquartered in Spokane, Washington. Through its primary subsidiary, Heritage Bank, the company provides a comprehensive range of banking and financial services to both individual and commercial clients. Heritage Bank’s offerings encompass deposit products, lending solutions, treasury and cash management services, mortgage banking, and wealth management, positioning the organization as a full-service community bank.

The company’s lending portfolio includes commercial real estate loans, agricultural loans, small business administration (SBA) loans, construction and development financing, and a variety of consumer mortgage products.