Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.25 Per Share

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 5th. This is a 4.2% increase from Heritage Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24.

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% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Heritage Financial to earn $2.80 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 34.3%.

Heritage Financial Stock Up 0.4%

HFWA stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Thursday, reaching $30.29. The stock had a trading volume of 1,100,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 307,162. The company has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.85 and a beta of 0.49. Heritage Financial has a one year low of $21.32 and a one year high of $31.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company’s 50 day moving average is $28.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.11.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.13. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 20.50%. Equities research analysts forecast that Heritage Financial will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Financial

In other Heritage Financial news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,842 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.37, for a total value of $108,997.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 41,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,170,007.17. This trade represents a 8.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HFWA. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 27,871.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,951 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 99.1% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 1,431 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in Heritage Financial by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,000 after buying an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Heritage Financial by 117.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 4,561 shares in the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.