Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) Position Raised by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 321,089 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,100 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.93% of Heritage Financial worth $5,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HFWA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Heritage Financial by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,934,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,884,000 after purchasing an additional 80,044 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $557,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Heritage Financial by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 278,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,013,000 after buying an additional 8,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in Heritage Financial by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 48,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,000 after acquiring an additional 18,325 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HFWA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Heritage Financial from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Heritage Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.50.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

HFWA opened at $21.49 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $741.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 0.53. Heritage Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $15.50 and a 1-year high of $23.82.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.04. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 7.95% and a net margin of 14.59%. The business had revenue of $56.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.27 million. Research analysts predict that Heritage Financial Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.28%. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is currently 69.17%.

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.