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

StockNews.com lowered shares of Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

Heritage Insurance Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of HRTG stock opened at $13.80 on Tuesday. Heritage Insurance has a 52-week low of $6.14 and a 52-week high of $16.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.23. The company has a market capitalization of $423.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Heritage Insurance announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to purchase up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Heritage Insurance

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

Institutional Trading of Heritage Insurance

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HRTG. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Heritage Insurance during the 3rd quarter valued at $206,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Heritage Insurance by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 109,552 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,341,000 after buying an additional 5,494 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Heritage Insurance during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,541,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Heritage Insurance by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 388,587 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,756,000 after buying an additional 70,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its position in shares of Heritage Insurance by 109.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 29,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 15,433 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.