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

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday.

HRTG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Heritage Insurance from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Piper Sandler upgraded Heritage Insurance from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $9.00 to $13.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Heritage Insurance currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.67.

Heritage Insurance Stock Performance

NYSE:HRTG opened at $10.11 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $309.73 million, a P/E ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.95. Heritage Insurance has a twelve month low of $5.20 and a twelve month high of $16.90. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $13.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $203.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $196.81 million. Heritage Insurance had a return on equity of 26.27% and a net margin of 7.37%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Heritage Insurance will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Richard A. Widdicombe bought 4,437 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $14.55 per share, for a total transaction of $64,558.35. Following the acquisition, the chairman now owns 696,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,134,031.35. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Heritage Insurance news, CEO Ernie J. Garateix bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.59 per share, with a total value of $42,950.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,072,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,213,496.56. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Richard A. Widdicombe purchased 4,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $14.55 per share, with a total value of $64,558.35. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 696,497 shares in the company, valued at $10,134,031.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 14.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Insurance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Heritage Insurance by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,414,585 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,016,000 after buying an additional 96,923 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Heritage Insurance by 45.7% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 436,099 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,088,000 after purchasing an additional 136,800 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Heritage Insurance by 63.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 432,732 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,064,000 after purchasing an additional 167,819 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Heritage Insurance by 226.3% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 410,515 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,903,000 after purchasing an additional 284,710 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Heritage Insurance by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 232,105 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,643,000 after purchasing an additional 11,745 shares in the last quarter. 59.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Heritage Insurance

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.