Trexquant Investment LP Grows Position in Heritage Financial Corporation $HFWA

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has increased its stake in Heritage Financial Corporation by 73.1% in Q1, now owning approximately 116,930 shares valued at $2.8 million.
• Heritage Financial Corporation reported an EPS of $0.53 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, but its revenue was below expectations at $56.5 million.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, representing an annualized yield of 4.0%.

Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 73.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 116,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 49,371 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.34% of Heritage Financial worth $2,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in Heritage Financial by 8.3% during the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 12,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares in the last quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 36.4% in the first quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 19,802 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 5,283 shares in the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Financial in the first quarter valued at about $631,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Financial in the first quarter valued at about $925,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 21.0% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 174,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,237,000 after acquiring an additional 30,238 shares in the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Heritage Financial Price Performance

Heritage Financial stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.98. 66,845 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 213,632. The stock has a market cap of $847.90 million, a P/E ratio of 17.52 and a beta of 0.56. The stock's fifty day moving average is $24.15 and its 200-day moving average is $23.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03. The business 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 6th. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.13%.

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.