Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) Shares Bought by Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 96.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,129 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,385 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned 0.07% of Heritage Financial worth $567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HFWA. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Heritage Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in Heritage Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $274,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,206,766 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $54,066,000 after buying an additional 465,708 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 199.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 16,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 11,281 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Heritage Financial by 112.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 369,429 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,051,000 after acquiring an additional 195,541 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on HFWA shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

Shares of HFWA traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $23.81. 37,051 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 211,480. The company has a market cap of $811.89 million, a PE ratio of 19.25 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.84. Heritage Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $16.55 and a 52-week high of $27.58.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $57.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.74 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 7.17%. On average, equities analysts predict that Heritage Financial Co. will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,420 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.59, for a total transaction of $80,677.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,087 shares of the company's stock, valued at $992,832.33. The trade was 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 this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Deuel sold 7,033 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.66, for a total value of $166,400.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 70,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,677,635.96. This trade represents a 9.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,311 shares of company stock worth $267,473. 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.