WINTON GROUP Ltd Has $842,000 Holdings in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its holdings in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 211.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,361 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 23,332 shares during the quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd owned about 0.10% of Heritage Financial worth $842,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $157,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the fourth quarter worth $166,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. bought a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the fourth quarter worth $168,000. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Heritage Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $215,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $229,000. Institutional investors own 78.30% of the company's stock.

Heritage Financial Stock Down 7.4 %

HFWA traded down $1.82 during trading on Thursday, reaching $22.68. The company had a trading volume of 31,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 261,106. The company has a market cap of $770.92 million, a P/E ratio of 18.29 and a beta of 0.53. 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 0.47, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business's fifty day moving average price is $24.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.16.

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

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This is an increase from Heritage Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.23%. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Heritage Financial

In other news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,420 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.59, for a total value of $80,677.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,087 shares in the company, valued at $992,832.33. This trade represents a 7.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Deuel sold 7,033 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 70,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,677,635.96. The trade was a 9.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,311 shares of company stock worth $369,193. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

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.