Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Lowers Stock Holdings in Heritage Financial Corporation $HFWA

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership decreased its position in Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) by 14.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 433,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 70,709 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Heritage Financial were worth $11,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HFWA. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 74.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 79,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,063,000 after purchasing an additional 33,834 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 33,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $865,000 after purchasing an additional 4,858 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 1.5% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 67,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Heritage Financial by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,213,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,550,000 after purchasing an additional 106,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 3.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 379,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,864,000 after buying an additional 12,869 shares during the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,842 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.37, for a total transaction of $108,997.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 41,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,170,007.17. This represents a 8.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kelli Ann Wilson sold 3,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.69, for a total transaction of $112,168.82. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,009.31. The trade was a 54.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Heritage Financial stock opened at $29.73 on Friday. Heritage Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $21.32 and a 52 week high of $31.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.37. The firm has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $84.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.30 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 8.78%. Equities analysts forecast that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from Heritage Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 5th. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HFWA. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Heritage Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Heritage Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.50.

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.