Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Makes New $20.41 Million Investment in Heritage Financial Corporation $HFWA

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 689,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $20,408,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned 1.68% of Heritage Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in HFWA. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Heritage Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 27,871.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,951 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Heritage Financial by 99.1% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 1,431 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Heritage Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $95,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Heritage Financial by 12.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Heritage Financial Trading Down 0.1%

Heritage Financial stock opened at $28.74 on Thursday. Heritage Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $21.32 and a 12-month high of $31.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.69 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.56 and a 200 day moving average of $27.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $84.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.30 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 8.78%. As a group, research analysts predict that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 5th. This is a positive change from Heritage Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is 47.62%.

Insider Activity at Heritage Financial

In related news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,842 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.37, for a total value of $108,997.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 41,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,170,007.17. This represents a 8.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 3,234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.92, for a total transaction of $96,761.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,231.04. This represents a 13.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 24,546 shares of company stock worth $729,057 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on HFWA. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Heritage Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Stephens raised their target price on Heritage Financial from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Heritage Financial from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Heritage Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.50.

Heritage Financial Company Profile

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) is a bank holding company headquartered in Spokane, Washington. Through its primary subsidiary, Heritage Bank, the company provides a comprehensive range of banking and financial services to both individual and commercial clients. Heritage Bank’s offerings encompass deposit products, lending solutions, treasury and cash management services, mortgage banking, and wealth management, positioning the organization as a full-service community bank.

The company’s lending portfolio includes commercial real estate loans, agricultural loans, small business administration (SBA) loans, construction and development financing, and a variety of consumer mortgage products.