Heritage Financial Corporation $HFWA Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Heritage Financial Corporation by 1.1%, now owning approximately 7.09%, valued at $58.6 million, following the sale of 27,779 shares in Q1.
• Heritage Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.9% and a payout ratio of 67.13%.
• Despite a quarterly earnings report that exceeded expectations with an EPS of $0.53, the company's revenue fell short of consensus estimates, amounting to $56.5 million.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,410,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 27,779 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 7.09% of Heritage Financial worth $58,648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HFWA. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 45.3% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its position in Heritage Financial by 519.0% in 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 lifted its position in Heritage Financial by 475.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,296 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 81.6% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 7,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $194,000 after purchasing an additional 3,549 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company's stock.

Heritage Financial Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ HFWA traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $24.56. The stock had a trading volume of 194,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 156,062. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $833.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.17 and a beta of 0.57. The business's fifty day moving average price is $23.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.57. Heritage Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $19.84 and a 52-week high of $27.58.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 7.34% and a net margin of 15.22%.The company had revenue of $56.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.54 million. Analysts expect that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 6th. Heritage Financial's payout ratio is 67.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on HFWA. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.67.

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.