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

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) was upgraded by investment analysts 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 brokerages also recently weighed in on HFWA. Brean Capital raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Capital One Financial set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Heritage Financial in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.67.

Heritage Financial Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of Heritage Financial stock opened at $29.15 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.50 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.35. Heritage Financial has a 12-month low of $21.32 and a 12-month high of $31.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 8.70% and a net margin of 19.24%. The business had revenue of $86.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.11 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Heritage Financial news, Director Jeffrey Lyon sold 10,000 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,570. This trade represents a 19.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Matthew Ray sold 3,692 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.10, for a total transaction of $111,129.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $684,323.50. The trade was a 13.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 22,004 shares of company stock valued at $657,200. Insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Apella Capital LLC bought a new stake in Heritage Financial in the third quarter worth $285,000. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Heritage Financial during the second quarter valued at about $419,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Heritage Financial during the second quarter valued at about $68,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the second quarter valued at about $214,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 21.7% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 2,022 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial News Summary

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.