Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 947 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Heritage Financial worth $420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $81,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $145,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $184,000. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new position in Heritage Financial in the fourth quarter worth $210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

Shares of HFWA opened at $17.87 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $619.28 million, a PE ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $18.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Heritage Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $14.85 and a 1 year high of $22.55.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The firm had revenue of $50.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.00 million. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 20.37%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Heritage Financial Co. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.15%. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is presently 52.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HFWA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Heritage Financial in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Heritage Financial from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Heritage Financial from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.25.

Heritage Financial Profile

Heritage Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Heritage Bank that provides various financial services to small and medium sized businesses and individuals in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest demand deposits, interest bearing demand deposits, money market accounts, savings accounts, personal checking accounts, and certificates of deposit.