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

StockNews.com cut shares of Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Heritage Insurance Price Performance

HRTG stock opened at $13.80 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Heritage Insurance has a 52 week low of $6.14 and a 52 week high of $16.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $11.74 and its 200 day moving average is $12.23. The firm has a market cap of $423.50 million, a P/E ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Heritage Insurance announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Insurance

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Heritage Insurance by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,569,667 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $18,993,000 after buying an additional 193,590 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Heritage Insurance by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,328,135 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $16,070,000 after acquiring an additional 9,452 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Heritage Insurance by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 944,639 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $11,430,000 after acquiring an additional 182,624 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Heritage Insurance by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 813,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,844,000 after purchasing an additional 205,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Insurance in the 4th quarter worth $7,799,000. 59.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.