Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Heritage Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of HRTG stock opened at $13.90 on Tuesday. Heritage Insurance has a fifty-two week low of $6.14 and a fifty-two week high of $16.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $11.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $426.35 million, a P/E ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Heritage Insurance announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul L. Whiting bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.35 per share, with a total value of $133,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 79,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,062,339.60. The trade was a 14.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ernie J. Garateix purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.77 per share, for a total transaction of $63,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,270,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,228,218.16. The trade was a 0.40 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 21,000 shares of company stock valued at $280,450. Insiders own 14.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Insurance

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HRTG. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in Heritage Insurance in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,541,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Insurance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $296,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Heritage Insurance by 412.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 15,468 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in Heritage Insurance during the fourth quarter worth $303,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in Heritage Insurance by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 371,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,542,000 after purchasing an additional 79,802 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.03% of the company’s stock.

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.