GAMMA Investing LLC Has $17.59 Million Holdings in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 3,435.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,309 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 70,264 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Heritage Financial worth $17,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in Heritage Financial by 794.1% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 519.0% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 2,979 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 475.6% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,989 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 3,296 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Heritage Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $157,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Heritage Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $166,000. Institutional investors own 78.30% of the company's stock.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ HFWA traded up $0.50 on Friday, reaching $23.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 157,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 215,148. Heritage Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $16.55 and a 52 week high of $27.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $795.01 million, a PE ratio of 18.80 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $22.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.11.

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

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. 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 research report on Monday, April 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heritage Financial

In other Heritage Financial news, CEO Jeffrey J. Deuel sold 7,033 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.66, for a total value of $166,400.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 70,906 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,635.96. The trade was a 9.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,420 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.59, for a total transaction of $80,677.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,087 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $992,832.33. The trade was a 7.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 11,311 shares of company stock valued at $267,473. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.