Bank of Nova Scotia Makes New $271,000 Investment in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 26th, 2023

Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA – Get Rating) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 8,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HFWA. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Heritage Financial by 75.6% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in Heritage Financial by 25.6% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its position in Heritage Financial by 18.5% during the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 6,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA acquired a new position in Heritage Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $188,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Heritage Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.91% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

Heritage Financial stock opened at $16.60 on Friday. Heritage Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $14.85 and a 1 year high of $34.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $18.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.90. The company has a market cap of $582.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.12 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 4th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.30%. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is 37.77%.

Insider Activity at Heritage Financial

In related news, Director Brian Charneski bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.88 per share, for a total transaction of $79,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 13,675 shares in the company, valued at $217,159. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Heritage Financial news, Director Jeffrey S. Lyon acquired 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.36 per share, for a total transaction of $30,380.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 40,742 shares in the company, valued at $707,281.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Brian Charneski acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.88 per share, with a total value of $79,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 13,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $217,159. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 7,350 shares of company stock worth $119,584. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on HFWA shares. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Monday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Heritage Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Sunday, April 23rd. TheStreet lowered shares of Heritage Financial from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Heritage Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company.

Heritage Financial Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Heritage Financial Corp. is bank holding company, which engages in the business of planning, directing, and coordinating the business activities of wholly owned subsidiary Heritage Bank. It includes commercial lending and deposit relationships with small and medium businesses and their owners in market areas, and attracting deposits from the general public.