Heritage Financial Corporation (HFWA) To Go Ex-Dividend on January 28th

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be given a dividend of 0.24 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 28th.

Heritage Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 14 years. Heritage Financial has a payout ratio of 42.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Heritage Financial to earn $2.28 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 42.1%.

Heritage Financial Stock Up 0.5%

HFWA opened at $26.72 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $24.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.83. Heritage Financial has a 1 year low of $19.84 and a 1 year high of $28.35. The company has a market cap of $907.31 million, a PE ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 0.52.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $66.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.95 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 8.61%. Sell-side analysts expect that Heritage Financial will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Bryan Mcdonald bought 19,106 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.32 per share, with a total value of $426,445.92. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 31,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $700,022.16. This trade represents a 155.88% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HFWA. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,977,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,979,000 after purchasing an additional 225,201 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 9.2% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,626,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,531,000 after acquiring an additional 220,273 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 828,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,741,000 after acquiring an additional 3,447 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 13.4% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 504,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,027,000 after purchasing an additional 59,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Heritage Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,210,000. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Heritage Financial

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) is a bank holding company headquartered in Spokane, Washington. Through its primary subsidiary, Heritage Bank, the company provides a comprehensive range of banking and financial services to both individual and commercial clients. Heritage Bank’s offerings encompass deposit products, lending solutions, treasury and cash management services, mortgage banking, and wealth management, positioning the organization as a full-service community bank.

The company’s lending portfolio includes commercial real estate loans, agricultural loans, small business administration (SBA) loans, construction and development financing, and a variety of consumer mortgage products.