Arizona State Retirement System Invests $210,000 in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Arizona State Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 9,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HFWA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 21.4% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 169,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,249,000 after purchasing an additional 29,923 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 18.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 967,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,246,000 after purchasing an additional 151,460 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 11.1% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 31,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 3,127 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Heritage Financial by 54.2% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 18,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $475,000 after acquiring an additional 6,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its position in Heritage Financial by 13.9% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 30,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 3,686 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

Shares of HFWA opened at $18.17 on Monday. Heritage Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $14.85 and a fifty-two week high of $22.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $18.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $629.59 million, a P/E ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.54.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.37% and a return on equity of 8.66%. The company had revenue of $50.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.00 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Heritage Financial Co. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. This is an increase from Heritage Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.06%. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HFWA. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Heritage Financial in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Heritage Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.25.

Heritage Financial 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.