Wellington Management Group LLP Buys New Shares in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 74,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,602,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HFWA. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Arizona State Retirement System bought a new stake in Heritage Financial during the fourth quarter worth $210,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Heritage Financial by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 17,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 6,022 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Heritage Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $374,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 50.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 18,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 6,096 shares during the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ HFWA opened at $17.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $620.95 million, a PE ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.95 and a 200-day moving average of $18.83. Heritage Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $15.50 and a 52-week high of $22.55.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.01). Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 15.70%. The company had revenue of $48.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.87 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.14%. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HFWA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Heritage Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Heritage Financial in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.75.

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.