Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 114,191 Shares of Heritage Financial Corporation $HFWA

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its holdings in Heritage Financial Corporation by 7.6%, selling 114,191 shares and now owns 1,382,473 shares valued at approximately $33.6 million.
• Heritage Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.9%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Heritage Financial, with one research firm downgrading the stock from "hold" to "sell", while the consensus price target is $27.67.

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,382,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 114,191 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 4.05% of Heritage Financial worth $33,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 45.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 519.0% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 2,979 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 475.6% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,989 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 14.8% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the first quarter worth about $167,000. 78.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heritage Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.67.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Heritage Financial stock traded down $0.25 on Friday, reaching $24.64. 51,469 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 213,803. Heritage Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $19.84 and a 52 week high of $27.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.13 and a 200 day moving average of $23.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $836.49 million, a PE ratio of 17.21 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.03. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 15.22% and a return on equity of 7.34%. The firm had revenue of $56.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.54 million. Equities analysts forecast that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.13%.

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.