Heritage Financial Corporation $HFWA Shares Purchased by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 331,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 94,486 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Heritage Financial were worth $9,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HFWA. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Heritage Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $172,125,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,213,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,550,000 after purchasing an additional 106,308 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $20,408,000. Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,860,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,817,000. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Heritage Financial Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of HFWA stock opened at $28.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.82. The company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.31 and a beta of 0.53. Heritage Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $21.32 and a 1-year high of $31.25.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $86.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.11 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 19.24% and a return on equity of 8.70%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HFWA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a report on Friday, October 2nd. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Frederick Rivera sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $37,141.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,277.30. The trade was a 18.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Matthew Ray sold 3,692 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.10, for a total transaction of $111,129.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $684,323.50. This represents a 13.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Profile

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: HFWA) is a bank holding company headquartered in Olympia, Washington. The company operates primarily through Heritage Bank, a community-focused financial institution serving businesses, individuals and organizations in Washington and Oregon.

Heritage Bank provides commercial and residential real estate lending, business and consumer loans, deposit accounts, cash-management and treasury services, online and mobile banking, and other traditional banking products.