Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRTG) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRTG) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 765,600 shares, a decrease of 5.6% from the May 15th total of 811,400 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 454,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Heritage Insurance Stock Performance

NYSE:HRTG opened at $7.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $229.80 million, a PE ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 0.93. Heritage Insurance has a fifty-two week low of $3.73 and a fifty-two week high of $11.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $8.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.89.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The insurance provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $191.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.05 million. Heritage Insurance had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 24.02%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Heritage Insurance will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ernie J. Garateix acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.21 per share, for a total transaction of $41,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,067,584 shares in the company, valued at $8,764,864.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Nicholas George Pappas sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.56, for a total value of $51,360.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 75,400 shares in the company, valued at $645,424. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ernie J. Garateix bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.21 per share, with a total value of $41,050.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,067,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,764,864.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 60,000 shares of company stock worth $497,250 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 14.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Insurance

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new stake in Heritage Insurance in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Heritage Insurance by 8.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 96,678 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 7,203 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Heritage Insurance by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 104,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Heritage Insurance in the first quarter worth $134,000. Finally, Instrumental Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Heritage Insurance by 109.1% in the first quarter. Instrumental Wealth LLC now owns 27,791 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 14,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Heritage Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of Heritage Insurance in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Truist Financial upped their target price on Heritage Insurance from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Heritage Insurance in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Heritage Insurance presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.00.

Heritage Insurance Company Profile

Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides personal and commercial residential insurance products. The company offers personal residential insurance in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia; commercial residential insurance for properties in Florida, New Jersey, and New York; and licensed in the state of Pennsylvania, as well as personal residential and wind-only property insurance.