Royce & Associates LP Sells 59,001 Shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP has reduced its stake in Heritage Financial Corporation by 26.2%, selling 59,001 shares and retaining 166,120 shares worth approximately $4,042,000.
• Several hedge funds increased their holdings in Heritage Financial, with Sterling Capital Management raising its position by 794.1% in the last quarter.
• Heritage Financial's latest earnings report revealed earnings per share of $0.53, beating estimates by $0.03, although revenue fell short at $56.50 million against estimates of $63.54 million.

Royce & Associates LP cut its stake in shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 26.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 166,120 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 59,001 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.49% of Heritage Financial worth $4,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Heritage Financial by 5.0% in the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 11,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 45.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 927 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 794.1% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Heritage Financial by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 29,901 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $733,000 after acquiring an additional 1,914 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Heritage Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Heritage Financial Stock Down 0.8%

Heritage Financial stock traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $22.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 59,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 223,678. The company has a market capitalization of $768.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74 and a beta of 0.54. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $23.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. Heritage Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $19.84 and a 12 month high of $27.58.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $56.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.54 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 15.22% and a return on equity of 7.34%. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 6th. Heritage Financial's payout ratio is 67.13%.

About Heritage Financial

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.