Empowered Funds LLC Buys Shares of 178,912 Heritage Financial Corporation $HFWA

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC purchased 178,912 Heritage Financial shares valued at approximately $5.3 million, giving it a 0.44% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 78.3% of the company.
• Heritage Financial beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.57 EPS versus the $0.44 consensus estimate, while revenue of $84.12 million fell short of estimates. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.25 per share, implying a 3.5% annual yield.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $32.50, above the reported share price of $28.57. Meanwhile, company insiders sold 24,546 shares worth about $729,000 over the past 90 days.

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 178,912 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,299,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.44% of Heritage Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in Heritage Financial by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 18,381 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in Heritage Financial by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Heritage Financial by 12.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Heritage Financial by 4.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 1.5% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 67,168 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,746,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company's stock.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

Shares of HFWA stock opened at $28.57 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $29.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.86. Heritage Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $21.32 and a 52 week high of $31.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60 and a beta of 0.50.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.13. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The business had revenue of $84.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.30 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from Heritage Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HFWA. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Heritage Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research raised Heritage Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Stephens boosted their price target on Heritage Financial from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Heritage Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.50.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Financial

In other news, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 3,234 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.92, for a total transaction of $96,761.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $609,231.04. The trade was a 13.71% 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, EVP Matthew T. Ray sold 3,692 shares of the company'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 owned 22,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $684,323.50. This trade represents a 13.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 24,546 shares of company stock worth $729,057 over the last 90 days. 1.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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