Barclays PLC Boosts Stock Position in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Barclays PLC raised its position in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 105.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 73,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 37,606 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.21% of Heritage Financial worth $1,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 73.8% in the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 35,933 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $782,000 after acquiring an additional 15,259 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Heritage Financial by 46.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 65,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 20,792 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Heritage Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,594,963 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,722,000 after purchasing an additional 4,012 shares in the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Heritage Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $307,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 16,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 4,242 shares during the period. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 2,975 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total transaction of $78,837.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $533,153.50. This trade represents a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Heritage Financial Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of HFWA traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 149,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 150,535. The company's 50 day moving average is $25.39 and its 200 day moving average is $22.80. The stock has a market cap of $788.27 million, a PE ratio of 21.37 and a beta of 0.57. Heritage Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $16.55 and a 12-month high of $27.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $81.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $58.17 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 7.01%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial Co. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 85.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.00.

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.