Barclays PLC Purchases 37,606 Shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) by 105.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,606 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.21% of Heritage Financial worth $1,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HFWA. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Heritage Financial during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Heritage Financial during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Heritage Financial in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Heritage Financial by 43.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HFWA opened at $24.31 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $25.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.23. Heritage Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $16.55 and a twelve month high of $27.58. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $830.28 million, a PE ratio of 22.51 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is 85.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Heritage Financial news, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 2,975 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total transaction of $78,837.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $533,153.50. The trade was a 12.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.