Royce & Associates LP Trims Stake in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Royce & Associates LP reduced its stake in shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 270,169 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 19,374 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.78% of Heritage Financial worth $5,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 133.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,374 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Heritage Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on HFWA shares. Stephens boosted their price objective 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. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Heritage Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $25.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 2,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total transaction of $78,837.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HFWA traded down $0.47 during trading on Monday, reaching $25.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 96,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 185,368. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $877.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.22 and a beta of 0.52. Heritage Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $16.55 and a 12 month high of $27.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $22.69 and a 200-day moving average of $20.73.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Heritage Financial had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 7.01%. The firm had revenue of $81.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Heritage Financial Co. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.19%.

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.