Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $4.57 Million Stock Position in Heritage Financial Corporation $HFWA

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) by 8.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 188,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,263 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Heritage Financial were worth $4,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HFWA. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Heritage Financial by 27,871.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 99.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,431 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 100.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 3,838 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS bought a new position in Heritage Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Heritage Financial by 3.7% during the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on HFWA shares. DA Davidson upped their target price on Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Stephens boosted their price target on Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Heritage Financial from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Heritage Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.25.

Heritage Financial Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ HFWA opened at $28.09 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $953.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 0.53. Heritage Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $19.84 and a twelve month high of $28.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business’s fifty day moving average is $25.46 and its 200 day moving average is $24.21.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.61% and a net margin of 20.10%.The business had revenue of $66.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.95 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 28th. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heritage Financial

In other Heritage Financial news, EVP Kelli Ann Wilson sold 1,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.48, for a total value of $50,312.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,041.44. This represents a 33.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.31, for a total transaction of $47,358.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,813.32. The trade was a 26.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 8,368 shares of company stock valued at $226,740 in the last quarter. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.