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

Barclays PLC increased its position in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) by 105.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 73,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 37,606 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.21% of Heritage Financial worth $1,595,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 73.8% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 35,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $782,000 after acquiring an additional 15,259 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Heritage Financial by 46.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 65,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 20,792 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Heritage Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,594,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,722,000 after purchasing an additional 4,012 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Heritage Financial in the third quarter worth $307,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Heritage Financial by 35.6% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 16,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 4,242 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Heritage Financial

In other Heritage Financial news, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 20,119 shares in the company, valued at $533,153.50. This trade represents a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Stephens lifted their price target on Heritage Financial from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Three investment 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 a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

HFWA stock opened at $23.08 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $25.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $788.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.37 and a beta of 0.57. Heritage Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $16.55 and a 12-month high of $27.58.

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

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is 85.19%.

Heritage Financial 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.