Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) Trading Up 10.7% After Strong Earnings

Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRTG) rose 10.7% during trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $27.44 and last traded at $27.4050. Approximately 448,090 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 14% from the average daily volume of 394,010 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.76.

The insurance provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $1.10. Heritage Insurance had a net margin of 12.71% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The company had revenue of $212.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $210.12 million.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HRTG. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Heritage Insurance from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Heritage Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Heritage Insurance from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Heritage Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Sharon Binnun sold 21,000 shares of Heritage Insurance stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.47, for a total value of $513,870.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 176,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,306,866.82. The trade was a 10.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Richard A. Widdicombe sold 100,000 shares of Heritage Insurance stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.26, for a total transaction of $2,726,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 499,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,604,021.22. This trade represents a 16.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 302,668 shares of company stock worth $7,663,554. Corporate insiders own 15.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Insurance

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Heritage Insurance during the first quarter worth about $1,727,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Heritage Insurance by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 509,080 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,341,000 after purchasing an additional 40,220 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Heritage Insurance by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 485,631 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,003,000 after purchasing an additional 37,763 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Insurance during the 1st quarter valued at $751,000. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Heritage Insurance during the 1st quarter worth about $228,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.03% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Insurance Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $855.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.91 and a beta of 0.95.

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.