Strs Ohio Lowers Holdings in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Strs Ohio decreased its stake in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) by 16.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,000 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio owned approximately 0.09% of Heritage Financial worth $652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Heritage Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $81,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Heritage Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $145,000. Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new position in Heritage Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $210,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Heritage Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $184,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Heritage Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

Shares of Heritage Financial stock opened at $18.09 on Friday. Heritage Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $14.85 and a 12 month high of $22.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $626.82 million, a P/E ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.72.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 20.37%. The firm had revenue of $50.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.00 million. As a group, analysts predict that Heritage Financial Co. will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Heritage Financial from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Heritage Financial in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on Heritage Financial from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.25.

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.