Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) Short Interest Update

Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 556,400 shares, an increase of 6.8% from the June 15th total of 520,800 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 171,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Heritage Financial Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of Heritage Financial stock opened at $21.08 on Friday. Heritage Financial has a 1-year low of $15.50 and a 1-year high of $22.55. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $731.27 million, a PE ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 0.54.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.01). Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 15.70%. The company had revenue of $48.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.87 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.36%. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is currently 69.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 133.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 72.6% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,428 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $81,000. Arizona State Retirement System bought a new position in Heritage Financial in the 4th quarter worth $210,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Heritage Financial in the 1st quarter worth $216,000. 78.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Heritage Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Heritage Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.75.

About Heritage Financial

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.