AQR Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Heritage Financial Corporation $HFWA

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC has reduced its holdings in Heritage Financial Corporation by 11.7%, now owning approximately 0.70% of the company, valued at $5.8 million.
• Heritage Financial reported earnings of $0.53 per share, exceeding estimates, with total revenue of $56.5 million for the last quarter.
• The company has a current dividend yield of 3.9%, having recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share.

AQR Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 11.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 238,210 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 31,549 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.70% of Heritage Financial worth $5,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Heritage Financial by 15,727.7% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,480,997 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471,640 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Heritage Financial by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,752,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $66,959,000 after acquiring an additional 545,348 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Heritage Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $2,491,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Heritage Financial by 3,435.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 72,309 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,590,000 after acquiring an additional 70,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Heritage Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $1,505,000. Institutional investors own 78.30% of the company's stock.

Heritage Financial Stock Up 3.9%

Shares of NASDAQ HFWA traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $25.19. 158,778 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 169,771. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $855.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62 and a beta of 0.56. Heritage Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $19.84 and a 1 year high of $27.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.02 and a 200 day moving average of $23.59.

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

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 6th. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio is 67.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded Heritage Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.67.

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.