Panagora Asset Management Inc. Purchases 20,459 Shares of Heritage Financial Corporation $HFWA

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Heritage Financial Corporation by 15.1% in the first quarter, owning 155,661 shares valued at approximately $3.79 million.
• Heritage Financial recently reported earnings of $0.53 per share, exceeding projections of $0.50, alongside a quarterly revenue of $56.50 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 with a dividend yield of 3.9%, reflecting a current payout ratio of 67.13%.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 20,459 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.46% of Heritage Financial worth $3,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 927 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 519.0% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 2,979 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 475.6% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,989 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 3,296 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in Heritage Financial by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Heritage Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $167,000. Institutional investors own 78.30% of the company's stock.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HFWA traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.80. 224,679 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 148,545. Heritage Financial Corporation has a one year low of $19.84 and a one year high of $27.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $24.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $841.96 million, a PE ratio of 17.34 and a beta of 0.56.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) 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. Analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of 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 given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, 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.