Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on HFWA. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Capital One Financial set a $33.00 price target on Heritage Financial in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Brean Capital raised Heritage Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Heritage Financial from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Heritage Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Heritage Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.67.

Heritage Financial Trading Up 2.2%

NASDAQ:HFWA opened at $29.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.35. Heritage Financial has a fifty-two week low of $21.32 and a fifty-two week high of $31.25.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 19.24% and a return on equity of 8.70%. The company had revenue of $86.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.11 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Heritage Financial will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 3,234 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.92, for a total transaction of $96,761.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,362 shares in the company, valued at $609,231.04. This represents a 13.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Matthew Ray sold 3,692 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.10, for a total value of $111,129.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $684,323.50. The trade was a 13.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,004 shares of company stock worth $657,200. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $172,125,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Heritage Financial during the second quarter worth $20,408,000. Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new position in Heritage Financial during the second quarter worth $13,860,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Heritage Financial during the second quarter worth $11,817,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Heritage Financial during the second quarter worth $9,142,000. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Heritage Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting Heritage Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Heritage Financial reported third-quarter revenue of $86.5 million, slightly above the $86.1 million consensus estimate. Adjusted EPS was $0.55, ahead of the $0.50 estimate cited by several analysts, while net income rose to $18.7 million from $17.5 million in the second quarter. Heritage Financial Announces Third Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: The board authorized a repurchase of up to 2 million shares, representing approximately 5% of issued shares. The program could support earnings per share and signal that management views the stock as attractively valued. Heritage Financial Announces Equity Buyback
• Positive Sentiment: Heritage Financial declared a regular $0.25-per-share dividend, or $1.00 annualized, implying a yield of roughly 3.5% based on the supplied trading information. The payout adds to the stock’s shareholder-return appeal. Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Management expects fourth-quarter noninterest expense of $55 million to $56 million following the Kitsap systems conversion. The guidance provides visibility but indicates elevated implementation-related costs in the near term. Heritage Financial Q4 Expense Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Results were mixed depending on the earnings measure: GAAP diluted EPS was $0.46, while adjusted EPS declined from $0.57 in the second quarter and was below the $0.56 reported a year earlier. One estimate also placed the quarterly EPS shortfall at $0.02, which may limit the positive reaction. Heritage Financial Q3 Earnings Estimate Report

About Heritage Financial

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: HFWA) is a bank holding company headquartered in Olympia, Washington. The company operates primarily through Heritage Bank, a community-focused financial institution serving businesses, individuals and organizations in Washington and Oregon.

Heritage Bank provides commercial and residential real estate lending, business and consumer loans, deposit accounts, cash-management and treasury services, online and mobile banking, and other traditional banking products.