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

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

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

Heritage Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HRTG opened at $28.11 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $26.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.27. Heritage Insurance has a 52-week low of $11.87 and a 52-week high of $31.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $868.82 million, a P/E ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.95.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) last posted 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 company had revenue of $215.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.60 million. Heritage Insurance had a return on equity of 51.04% and a net margin of 23.08%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Heritage Insurance will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ernie J. Garateix sold 8,334 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.12, for a total value of $201,016.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,120,170 shares in the company, valued at $27,018,500.40. This represents a 0.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 25,002 shares of company stock valued at $663,636 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 15.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Insurance

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Heritage Insurance in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Heritage Insurance during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Heritage Insurance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Heritage Insurance by 72.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,182 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in Heritage Insurance in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. 59.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.