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

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

Heritage Insurance Price Performance

Shares of HRTG stock opened at $13.90 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $426.35 million, a P/E ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 1.00. 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 has a 12 month low of $6.14 and a 12 month high of $16.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $11.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.22.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The insurance provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.83. The firm had revenue of $210.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.87 million. Heritage Insurance had a return on equity of 29.17% and a net margin of 9.10%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Heritage Insurance will post 1.86 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Insurance declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to buy up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Paul L. Whiting bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.35 per share, with a total value of $133,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 79,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,062,339.60. This trade represents a 14.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kirk Lusk purchased 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.85 per share, with a total value of $83,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 618,756 shares in the company, valued at $8,569,770.60. The trade was a 0.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 21,000 shares of company stock valued at $280,450 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 14.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Insurance

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of Heritage Insurance in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,541,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Heritage Insurance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $296,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Heritage Insurance by 412.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 15,468 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in Heritage Insurance in the 4th quarter valued at $303,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Heritage Insurance by 27.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 371,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,542,000 after purchasing an additional 79,802 shares in the last quarter. 59.03% of the stock is owned by 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.