Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) Short Interest Update

Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 576,400 shares, a decline of 11.2% from the January 15th total of 649,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 196,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HFWA shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th.

Insider Activity at Heritage Financial

In other Heritage Financial news, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 4,000 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.43, for a total value of $101,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,752.92. The trade was a 50.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HFWA. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $234,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Heritage Financial by 17.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 21,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 2,154 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Heritage Financial by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 113,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,463,000 after acquiring an additional 5,762 shares in the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Heritage Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of HFWA stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $24.45. 167,061 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 185,199. Heritage Financial has a 12-month low of $16.55 and a 12-month high of $27.58. The business’s fifty day moving average is $24.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $835.10 million, a P/E ratio of 19.72 and a beta of 0.56.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.06. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 7.17%. As a group, research analysts expect that Heritage Financial will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 6th. This is a boost from Heritage Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.42%.

About Heritage Financial

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.