Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

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

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on HRTG. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Heritage Insurance in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Heritage Insurance from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Heritage Insurance in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Heritage Insurance Trading Up 4.9%

Shares of HRTG opened at $28.11 on Wednesday. Heritage Insurance has a 12 month low of $11.87 and a 12 month high of $31.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $26.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $868.82 million, a PE ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.95.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 9th. The insurance provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $215.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.60 million. Heritage Insurance had a return on equity of 51.04% and a net margin of 23.08%. Equities analysts forecast that Heritage Insurance will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ernie J. Garateix sold 8,334 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.12, for a total value of $201,016.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,120,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,018,500.40. The trade was a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 25,002 shares of company stock valued at $663,636 in the last three months. 15.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Heritage Insurance by 72.6% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,182 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its holdings in Heritage Insurance by 0.3% in the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 186,380 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,693,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Heritage Insurance by 4.2% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,621 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Heritage Insurance by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 19,378 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Heritage Insurance during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.03% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Insurance Company Profile

Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc (NYSE: HRTG) is a property and casualty insurance holding company that offers homeowners insurance and related coverage products in the United States. Through its primary subsidiary, Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance Company, the firm underwrites standard and non-standard personal lines insurance, including homeowners, dwelling fire, flood, and condominium policies. Heritage leverages a network of independent insurance agents to distribute its products across select regional markets, with an emphasis on serving property owners in areas prone to severe weather events.

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Jupiter, Florida, Heritage Insurance has grown to become one of the leading providers of residential property insurance in the state.