Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heritage Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Heritage Insurance from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Heritage Insurance from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.50.

Heritage Insurance Price Performance

Heritage Insurance stock traded up $1.72 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $29.57. 828,357 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 432,361. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.13. Heritage Insurance has a 1 year low of $9.89 and a 1 year high of $29.96. The company has a market capitalization of $917.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.12 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $212.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $210.12 million. Heritage Insurance had a net margin of 17.72% and a return on equity of 44.62%. On average, analysts anticipate that Heritage Insurance will post 1.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Insurance

In other Heritage Insurance news, Chairman Richard A. Widdicombe sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.26, for a total transaction of $2,726,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 499,047 shares in the company, valued at $13,604,021.22. This represents a 16.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ernie J. Garateix sold 8,334 shares of Heritage Insurance stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.01, for a total transaction of $191,765.34. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,229,140 shares in the company, valued at $28,282,511.40. The trade was a 0.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 322,668 shares of company stock valued at $8,147,141. Corporate insiders own 15.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Insurance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Heritage Insurance by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 34,251 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $862,000 after buying an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Heritage Insurance by 8.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,646,731 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,465,000 after purchasing an additional 132,271 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Heritage Insurance during the third quarter valued at approximately $363,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Heritage Insurance by 46.2% during the third quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 42,561 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 13,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Insurance in the third quarter valued at $333,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.03% of the company’s stock.

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.