StockNews.com Downgrades Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) to Buy

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

Heritage Insurance Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRTG opened at $13.86 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.21. Heritage Insurance has a 1-year low of $6.14 and a 1-year high of $16.90. The stock has a market cap of $425.13 million, a PE ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 1.00.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The insurance provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.83. Heritage Insurance had a return on equity of 29.17% and a net margin of 9.10%. The business had revenue of $210.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.87 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Heritage Insurance will post 1.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Insurance declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to repurchase up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Insurance

In other Heritage Insurance news, Director Paul L. Whiting bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.35 per share, for a total transaction of $133,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 79,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,062,339.60. This trade represents a 14.37 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kirk Lusk bought 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.85 per share, for a total transaction of $83,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 618,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,569,770.60. This trade represents a 0.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 21,000 shares of company stock worth $280,450 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 14.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Insurance

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Insurance during the 3rd quarter worth $1,541,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Heritage Insurance in the 4th quarter valued at about $296,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Heritage Insurance by 412.8% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 15,468 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in Heritage Insurance in the 4th quarter valued at about $303,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in Heritage Insurance by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 371,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,542,000 after acquiring an additional 79,802 shares during the period. 59.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.