Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) Short Interest Update

Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA – Get Rating) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,060,000 shares, an increase of 7.1% from the December 15th total of 989,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 217,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.9 days. Approximately 3.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Heritage Financial Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ HFWA opened at $28.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $996.95 million, a P/E ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $30.83 and its 200-day moving average is $29.03. Heritage Financial has a one year low of $23.31 and a one year high of $34.34.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Cindy M. Huntley sold 1,193 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.61, for a total transaction of $38,903.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,815 shares in the company, valued at $646,167.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Brian L. Vance sold 5,148 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $168,494.04. Following the sale, the director now owns 92,365 shares in the company, valued at $3,023,106.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Cindy M. Huntley sold 1,193 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.61, for a total value of $38,903.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,167.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,341 shares of company stock worth $274,738. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ziegler Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 3.0% during the second quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC now owns 55,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,615 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 315.0% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 84,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,124,000 after purchasing an additional 64,131 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the second quarter worth about $220,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the third quarter worth about $445,000. Finally, Aspire Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 7.7% during the second quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HFWA has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Heritage Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 5th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Heritage Financial to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Heritage Financial to $38.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 1st.

About Heritage Financial

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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. The company 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.