Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in 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. Currently, 1.2% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 176,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days.
A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens raised their price objective on 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 lifted their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $25.00.
Read Our Latest Analysis on HFWA
Shares of HFWA traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $24.50. 176,790 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 185,350. Heritage Financial has a 12-month low of $16.55 and a 12-month high of $27.58. The company has a market cap of $836.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.69 and a beta of 0.55. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $25.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.
Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $81.65 million during 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. Research analysts expect that Heritage Financial will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.
The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 85.19%.
In other Heritage Financial news, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 2,975 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total value of $78,837.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $533,153.50. This trade represents a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.
Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HFWA. Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 220,644 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,978,000 after purchasing an additional 11,318 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Heritage Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $325,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in Heritage Financial by 60.0% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 48,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $881,000 after purchasing an additional 18,325 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 278,017 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,013,000 after buying an additional 8,112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $557,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company's stock.
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.
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