Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Heritage Insurance from “buy” to “strong buy.” Other analyst views were mixed, resulting in a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $36.50.
• Heritage shares opened at $35.87, down 2.0%, while the company reported quarterly earnings of $2.05 per share—$0.80 above estimates—and revenue of $214.19 million.
• Insiders sold $2.58 million of stock over the past three months, while institutional investors own 59.03% of the company.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on HRTG. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Heritage Insurance from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Heritage Insurance from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Heritage Insurance in a research note on Friday. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Heritage Insurance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Heritage Insurance from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.50.

Heritage Insurance Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE HRTG opened at $35.87 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 0.92. Heritage Insurance has a 52 week low of $20.48 and a 52 week high of $37.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.80.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.80. Heritage Insurance had a return on equity of 42.41% and a net margin of 25.19%. The firm had revenue of $214.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $212.71 million. Research analysts anticipate that Heritage Insurance will post 5.50 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Sharon Binnun sold 6,565 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.81, for a total value of $221,962.65. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 80,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,725,863.63. This trade represents a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kirk Lusk sold 10,000 shares of Heritage Insurance stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.16, for a total transaction of $341,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 492,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,824,551.52. The trade was a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 77,069 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,235 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 9.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Insurance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its position in Heritage Insurance by 510.0% in the first quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,403 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,173 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new position in Heritage Insurance in the second quarter valued at $48,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Heritage Insurance by 3,774.7% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,906 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 2,831 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Heritage Insurance during the second quarter valued at about $92,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Heritage Insurance during the second quarter valued at about $210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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 focused primarily on residential property insurance. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides coverage for homeowners, condominium owners, renters, and other residential property owners, including protection against risks such as wind, storm, fire, and other covered losses.

Heritage has historically concentrated on catastrophe-exposed markets, particularly Florida and other coastal areas of the southeastern United States.

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