Swiss National Bank Trims Stock Holdings in Heritage Financial Corporation $HFWA

Swiss National Bank reduced its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.19% of Heritage Financial worth $1,610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Heritage Financial by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 22,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 4,410 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $1,412,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 25,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 4,286 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,068,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,674,000 after purchasing an additional 33,429 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 20,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917 shares during the period. 78.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Heritage Financial Stock Up 5.8%

HFWA stock opened at $24.40 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company’s 50 day moving average is $23.84 and its 200 day moving average is $23.57. The stock has a market cap of $828.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06 and a beta of 0.57. Heritage Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $19.84 and a 1-year high of $27.58.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 15.22% and a return on equity of 7.34%. The business had revenue of $56.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.54 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is 67.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Heritage Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Heritage Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.67.

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.