Strs Ohio Lowers Stock Position in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Strs Ohio lessened its holdings in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) by 16.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,000 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Heritage Financial were worth $652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Heritage Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $374,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in Heritage Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new stake in Heritage Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 35.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 193,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,146,000 after purchasing an additional 50,688 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HFWA opened at $18.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Heritage Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $14.85 and a 12 month high of $22.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $626.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.72.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on HFWA shares. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Heritage Financial in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Heritage Financial from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Heritage Financial from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.25.

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.