Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.03 EPS

Key Points

• Heritage Financial reported earnings of $0.53 EPS, surpassing estimates of $0.50 by $0.03, while revenue was $56.50 million, below the expected $63.54 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24, translating to an annualized yield of 4.10%.
• A number of institutional investors have increased their stakes in Heritage Financial, with hedge funds owning 78.30% of the company's stock.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $56.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.54 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 15.22% and a return on equity of 7.34%.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

Shares of HFWA stock traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $23.44. The stock had a trading volume of 264,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 150,061. The stock's 50 day moving average is $23.95 and its 200 day moving average is $23.82. Heritage Financial has a twelve month low of $19.84 and a twelve month high of $27.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $799.44 million, a PE ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.54.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 6th. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HFWA. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Heritage Financial by 437.3% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 107,482 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 87,479 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 78,130 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,901,000 after acquiring an additional 5,417 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 123,798 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,012,000 after buying an additional 4,947 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HFWA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Heritage Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

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.

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