Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 414,900 shares, an increase of 7.2% from the November 30th total of 386,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 176,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:HFWA traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $24.50. The company had a trading volume of 176,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 185,350. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $25.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.41. Heritage Financial has a one year low of $16.55 and a one year high of $27.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $836.77 million, a PE ratio of 22.69 and a beta of 0.55.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.09). Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 7.01% and a net margin of 12.27%. The company had revenue of $81.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.17 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Heritage Financial will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HFWA shares. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Heritage Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 2,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total value of $78,837.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,119 shares in the company, valued at $533,153.50. This represents a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CWM LLC grew its position in Heritage Financial by 17.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 9.4% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Heritage Financial by 0.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 123,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,684,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 78.30% of the stock is currently 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.