Short Interest in Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) Increases By 35.5%

Key Points

• Short interest in Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) jumped 35.5% to 2,390,805 shares as of March 31, equal to 5.9% of shares outstanding and a days-to-cover ratio of 5.1.
• Heritage reported a quarterly EPS beat of $0.66 (vs. $0.57 expected), trades near $27.08 with a $1.11B market cap and a P/E of 13.82, and pays a $0.24 quarterly dividend (≈3.5% yield).
• Analysts are split (average rating "Moderate Buy" and $31 price target), while insiders sold 8,368 shares last quarter (insiders own 1.49%) and institutional holders own ~78.3% of the stock.

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,390,805 shares, an increase of 35.5% from the March 15th total of 1,764,732 shares. Currently, 5.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 467,457 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.1 days.

Heritage Financial Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Heritage Financial stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $27.08. 176,071 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 357,623. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 0.49. Heritage Financial has a twelve month low of $21.32 and a twelve month high of $28.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.91.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $66.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.95 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 8.61%. Research analysts forecast that Heritage Financial will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio is 48.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HFWA shares. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Heritage Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Heritage Financial from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.00.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Financial

In related news, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 4,668 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $129,070.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at $549,405.50. This represents a 19.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 1,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.31, for a total transaction of $47,358.00. Following the sale, the director owned 4,972 shares in the company, valued at $130,813.32. The trade was a 26.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,368 shares of company stock worth $226,740. Company insiders own 1.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Algebris UK Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial in the third quarter worth about $10,775,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,626,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,531,000 after buying an additional 220,273 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in Heritage Financial by 61.0% during the 3rd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 70,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,706,000 after acquiring an additional 26,727 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 112.5% in the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 58,043 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,404,000 after acquiring an additional 30,725 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 100.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 3,838 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company's stock.

About Heritage Financial

Heritage Financial Corporation NASDAQ: HFWA is a bank holding company headquartered in Spokane, Washington. Through its primary subsidiary, Heritage Bank, the company provides a comprehensive range of banking and financial services to both individual and commercial clients. Heritage Bank's offerings encompass deposit products, lending solutions, treasury and cash management services, mortgage banking, and wealth management, positioning the organization as a full-service community bank.

The company's lending portfolio includes commercial real estate loans, agricultural loans, small business administration (SBA) loans, construction and development financing, and a variety of consumer mortgage products.

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