Haverty Furniture Cos. (HVT) is a home furnishing retailer with over 129 showrooms in 17 states in the Southern and Midwest regions. Its products are in the middle to upper-middle price ranges. Haverty has suffered through the last three years. But the bottom could be in, suggests Tracey Ryniec, senior stock strategist at Zacks Investment Research.
The housing market has been in a recession since the Federal Reserve first raised interest rates back in 2022. Higher mortgage rates have resulted in lower home sales. This, in turn, trickles down to the furniture retailers. Consumers tend to buy a new couch, and other new furniture, when they buy a home.
As for Haverty, it is a retail institution founded in 1885. It has only had seven CEOs in its 140-year history. It is also one of the top 100 furniture manufacturers in the US.
Earnings have declined for several years as sales have slowed. But in the third quarter of 2025, it had its first positive written and delivered comp-store sales in several years. Comparable sales were up 7.1% in the third quarter of 2025, with comp-store written business up 8%.
Yes, that is coming off terrible numbers in 2024, so the bar was low. But Haverty continues to expand in preparation for a rebound in the housing market. In 2025, it opened a third Houston location and is targeting five net new store openings in 2026, including one in the first quarter.
Analysts are expecting a business turnaround in 2026. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is looking for earnings of $2.14, up 83.3% from $1.17 in 2025. Haverty also has a pristine balance sheet. As of Sept. 30, 2025, it had $137 million in cash and cash equivalents on hand. It also had no debt outstanding and credit availability of $80 million.
The company is committed to its shareholders. It has paid a cash dividend each year since 1935. That includes throughout World War II, the Great Recession, and the Covid pandemic. On Nov. 7, 2025, it raised the quarterly dividend a penny to $0.33 from $0.32. That is an annual dividend of $1.32 per share, which was recently good for a yield over 5%.
Haverty is attractively priced even though the shares are off the 2025 lows. It has a PEG ratio of just 1.8. The company has accounted for tariff impacts, as they knew them, in their full-year 2025 guidance.
Home sales will rise again, and consumers will need that new sectional. I would make a bet on small cap furniture retailers with great balance sheets like Haverty.
Recommended Action: Buy HVT.
