Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRTG) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRTG) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 958,600 shares, an increase of 25.2% from the May 31st total of 765,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 376,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 4.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HRTG shares. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Heritage Insurance from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Heritage Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Heritage Insurance in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $9.00 price target on shares of Heritage Insurance in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Heritage Insurance presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.00.

Heritage Insurance Price Performance

NYSE HRTG opened at $6.77 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $207.43 million, a PE ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.83. Heritage Insurance has a 52 week low of $3.82 and a 52 week high of $11.23.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The insurance provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.14). Heritage Insurance had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 24.02%. The business had revenue of $191.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. Research analysts predict that Heritage Insurance will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Insurance

In related news, CEO Ernie J. Garateix bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.21 per share, with a total value of $41,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,067,584 shares in the company, valued at $8,764,864.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Ernie J. Garateix purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.21 per share, for a total transaction of $41,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,067,584 shares in the company, valued at $8,764,864.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul L. Whiting acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.35 per share, with a total value of $417,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 59,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $498,177.70. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 60,000 shares of company stock valued at $497,250 over the last ninety days. 14.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Insurance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new position in Heritage Insurance in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Heritage Insurance by 8.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 96,678 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 7,203 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Heritage Insurance by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 104,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Heritage Insurance during the first quarter valued at about $134,000. Finally, Instrumental Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Heritage Insurance by 109.1% during the first quarter. Instrumental Wealth LLC now owns 27,791 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 14,500 shares during 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.