Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $23.77, but opened at $23.01. Heritage Financial shares last traded at $23.93, with a volume of 38,063 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Heritage Financial Stock Down 0.6 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $802.97 million, a PE ratio of 19.06 and a beta of 0.53.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.06. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 7.17% and a net margin of 13.64%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Heritage Financial Co. will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. This is an increase from Heritage Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.43, for a total transaction of $101,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,752.92. This trade represents a 50.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HFWA. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $547,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 475.6% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 3,296 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 41.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 72,713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,781,000 after buying an additional 21,375 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 519.0% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 2,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 81.6% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 7,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 3,549 shares in the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.