Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $21.21, but opened at $20.61. Heritage Financial shares last traded at $21.54, with a volume of 23,534 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Heritage Financial Trading Up 2.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business’s fifty day moving average is $23.71 and its 200 day moving average is $24.14. The stock has a market cap of $740.66 million, a PE ratio of 17.57 and a beta of 0.47.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from Heritage Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Deuel sold 7,033 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.66, for a total transaction of $166,400.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 70,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,677,635.96. This trade represents a 9.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.59, for a total transaction of $80,677.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $992,832.33. The trade was a 7.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,311 shares of company stock worth $369,193. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Heritage Financial by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 123,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,684,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 45.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Heritage Financial by 794.1% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Heritage Financial by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 29,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Heritage Financial by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 20,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 1,917 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

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.