94,486 Heritage Financial Corporation $HFWA Shares Acquired by ProShare Advisors LLC

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors increased its Heritage Financial stake by 39.8% in the third quarter, adding 94,486 shares and bringing its holdings to 331,715 shares, worth about $9.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 78.3% of the stock.
• Analysts give HFWA a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $32.67 average price target; four rate it Buy and four Hold.
• Heritage Financial reported quarterly EPS of $0.55, beating the $0.50 consensus, and revenue of $86.51 million. The company also announced a $0.25 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 3.5% annualized yield.

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 39.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 331,715 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 94,486 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.81% of Heritage Financial worth $9,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Apella Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Heritage Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $285,000. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Heritage Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $419,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Heritage Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Heritage Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Heritage Financial by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,349 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 2,022 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on HFWA. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Capital One Financial set a $33.00 target price on Heritage Financial in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Brean Capital upgraded Heritage Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $33.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Heritage Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Heritage Financial from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Heritage Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Matthew T. Ray sold 3,692 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.10, for a total transaction of $111,129.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,735 shares in the company, valued at $684,323.50. The trade was a 13.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $37,141.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at $168,277.30. This represents a 18.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HFWA opened at $28.77 on Wednesday. Heritage Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $21.32 and a 52 week high of $31.25. The business's 50 day moving average price is $28.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31 and a beta of 0.53.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 19.24% and a return on equity of 8.70%. The company had revenue of $86.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.11 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.75%.

Heritage Financial Company Profile

Heritage Financial Corporation NASDAQ: HFWA is a bank holding company headquartered in Olympia, Washington. The company operates primarily through Heritage Bank, a community-focused financial institution serving businesses, individuals and organizations in Washington and Oregon.

Heritage Bank provides commercial and residential real estate lending, business and consumer loans, deposit accounts, cash-management and treasury services, online and mobile banking, and other traditional banking products.

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