Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) Short Interest Up 12.8% in January

Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 467,800 shares, an increase of 12.8% from the December 31st total of 414,900 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 178,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Heritage Financial Stock Down 3.5 %

HFWA stock traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.87. 220,625 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 184,992. The stock has a market cap of $849.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Heritage Financial has a fifty-two week low of $16.55 and a fifty-two week high of $27.58. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $24.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.56.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.06. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 7.17% and a net margin of 13.64%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Heritage Financial will post 2.08 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 given a dividend of $0.24 per share. 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 3.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 6th. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.19%.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Financial

In other Heritage Financial news, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 3,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,752.92. This trade represents a 50.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Heritage Financial during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Heritage Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 43.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 17.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Heritage Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $99,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HFWA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens upped 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. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Heritage Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

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.