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

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

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

Heritage Insurance Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRTG traded up $1.72 during trading on Thursday, reaching $29.57. 828,357 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 432,361. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Heritage Insurance has a fifty-two week low of $9.89 and a fifty-two week high of $29.96. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.13. The firm has a market cap of $917.39 million, a PE ratio of 6.12 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Heritage Insurance

In related news, CAO Sharon Binnun sold 21,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.47, for a total transaction of $513,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 176,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,306,866.82. This represents a 10.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard A. Widdicombe sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman owned 499,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,604,021.22. The trade was a 16.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 322,668 shares of company stock valued at $8,147,141 over the last ninety days. 15.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Insurance

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Heritage Insurance during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Insurance during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Heritage Insurance by 2,413.6% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Insurance in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Heritage Insurance in the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 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.