Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler raised Heritage Insurance from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and raised their price target for the stock from $9.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Heritage Insurance from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $10.67.

Heritage Insurance Stock Performance

NYSE HRTG opened at $11.77 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $360.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.18 and a beta of 0.97. Heritage Insurance has a fifty-two week low of $5.03 and a fifty-two week high of $16.90. The business has a fifty day moving average of $13.18 and a 200-day moving average of $10.22.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.23. Heritage Insurance had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 26.27%. The firm had revenue of $203.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $196.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Heritage Insurance will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Richard A. Widdicombe acquired 4,437 shares of Heritage Insurance stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.55 per share, for a total transaction of $64,558.35. Following the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 696,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,134,031.35. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Heritage Insurance news, CEO Ernie J. Garateix purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was 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 owns 1,072,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,213,496.56. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Richard A. Widdicombe acquired 4,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $14.55 per share, for a total transaction of $64,558.35. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 696,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,134,031.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 14.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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