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

Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA – Get Rating) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,060,000 shares, an increase of 7.1% from the December 15th total of 989,500 shares. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 217,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HFWA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 5th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Heritage Financial to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, October 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Heritage Financial to $38.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 1st.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Cindy M. Huntley sold 1,193 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.61, for a total value of $38,903.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,167.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Brian L. Vance sold 5,148 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total value of $168,494.04. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 92,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,023,106.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Cindy M. Huntley sold 1,193 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.61, for a total transaction of $38,903.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,815 shares in the company, valued at $646,167.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,341 shares of company stock valued at $274,738 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 21.4% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 169,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,249,000 after purchasing an additional 29,923 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 967,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,246,000 after buying an additional 151,460 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 31,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 3,127 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 54.2% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 18,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 6,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in Heritage Financial by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 30,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 3,686 shares during the last quarter. 78.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

HFWA opened at $28.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $996.95 million, a PE ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 0.63. Heritage Financial has a twelve month low of $23.31 and a twelve month high of $34.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $30.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

About Heritage Financial

(Get Rating)

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. The company 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.