Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Trims Stock Holdings in Heritage Financial Corporation $HFWA

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital cut its Heritage Financial stake by 14% in the first quarter, selling 70,709 shares and retaining 433,512 shares worth approximately $11.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 78.3% of HFWA.
• Heritage Financial reported quarterly EPS of $0.57, beating estimates of $0.44, although revenue of $84.13 million fell short of the $86.30 million forecast.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.25 per share, implying an annualized dividend of $1.00 and a 3.4% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $32.50.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lowered its position in shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 14.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 433,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 70,709 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned about 1.05% of Heritage Financial worth $11,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Heritage Financial by 2.9% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 18,381 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 881 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 1.5% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 67,168 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 7.2% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 15,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company's stock.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

HFWA opened at $29.73 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16 and a beta of 0.49. Heritage Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $21.32 and a 1-year high of $31.25.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $84.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.30 million. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 20.44%. Equities analysts forecast that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This is a boost from Heritage Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Heritage Financial's payout ratio is presently 45.71%.

Insider Activity

In other Heritage Financial news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,842 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.37, for a total transaction of $108,997.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 41,241 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,170,007.17. The trade was a 8.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kelli Ann Wilson sold 3,778 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.69, for a total transaction of $112,168.82. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,099 shares in the company, valued at $92,009.31. The trade was a 54.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on HFWA. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Heritage Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research upgraded Heritage Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Heritage Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.50.

About Heritage Financial

Heritage Financial Corporation NASDAQ: HFWA is a bank holding company headquartered in Spokane, Washington. Through its primary subsidiary, Heritage Bank, the company provides a comprehensive range of banking and financial services to both individual and commercial clients. Heritage Bank's offerings encompass deposit products, lending solutions, treasury and cash management services, mortgage banking, and wealth management, positioning the organization as a full-service community bank.

The company's lending portfolio includes commercial real estate loans, agricultural loans, small business administration (SBA) loans, construction and development financing, and a variety of consumer mortgage products.

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