Ieq Capital LLC Takes $274,000 Position in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 11,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HFWA. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 9.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 123,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,684,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 11.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 21,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 2,154 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,594,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,722,000 after acquiring an additional 4,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 16,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 4,242 shares in the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.43, for a total transaction of $101,720.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,752.92. This represents a 50.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:HFWA opened at $25.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $863.07 million, a P/E ratio of 20.38 and a beta of 0.56. Heritage Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $16.55 and a 12 month high of $27.58. The business’s 50-day moving average is $24.57 and its 200 day moving average is $23.85.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.06. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 7.17% and a net margin of 13.64%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Heritage Financial Co. will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from Heritage Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.42%.

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.