Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $23.77, but opened at $23.01. Heritage Financial shares last traded at $23.93, with a volume of 38,063 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Heritage Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Heritage Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $24.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $808.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18 and a beta of 0.53.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.06. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 7.17% and a net margin of 13.64%. Equities analysts expect that Heritage Financial Co. will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. This is a positive change from Heritage Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.42%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Deuel sold 7,033 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.66, for a total transaction of $166,400.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 70,906 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,635.96. This represents a 9.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 4,000 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were 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 owns 3,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,752.92. This represents a 50.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,311 shares of company stock valued at $369,193. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HFWA. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 71.4% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,741,058 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,903,000 after purchasing an additional 725,257 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 112.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 369,429 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,051,000 after purchasing an additional 195,541 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. bought a new position in Heritage Financial during the 4th quarter worth $3,755,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Heritage Financial by 357.0% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 143,913 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,526,000 after purchasing an additional 112,419 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Heritage Financial by 83.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 225,948 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,536,000 after buying an additional 102,665 shares during the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Heritage Financial Company 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.