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

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Heritage Insurance Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRTG opened at $12.77 on Tuesday. Heritage Insurance has a 1-year low of $6.14 and a 1-year high of $16.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $391.77 million, a PE ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $11.62 and its 200-day moving average is $12.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The insurance provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 29.17% and a net margin of 9.10%. Sell-side 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 approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Heritage Insurance

In other Heritage Insurance news, CEO Ernie J. Garateix acquired 5,000 shares of Heritage Insurance stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $12.77 per share, with a total value of $63,850.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,270,808 shares in the company, valued at $16,228,218.16. This trade represents a 0.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul L. Whiting acquired 10,000 shares of Heritage Insurance stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.35 per share, for a total transaction of $133,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 79,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,062,339.60. This represents a 14.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 21,000 shares of company stock valued at $280,450 in the last 90 days. 14.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Insurance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Heritage Insurance by 222.2% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Insurance during the fourth quarter worth $121,000. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Insurance during the fourth quarter worth $133,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Insurance during the fourth quarter worth $134,000. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Heritage Insurance by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 12,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 2,210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.