Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRTG) Short Interest Update

Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRTG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 873,600 shares, a growth of 23.8% from the March 31st total of 705,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 258,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 3.9% of the company's stock are sold short.

Heritage Insurance Stock Performance

HRTG traded up $3.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $22.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 420,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 255,066. Heritage Insurance has a 52 week low of $6.14 and a 52 week high of $22.69. The firm has a market cap of $708.35 million, a PE ratio of 9.14 and a beta of 0.95. The company's 50-day moving average is $15.42 and its 200-day moving average is $12.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $211.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $213.68 million. Heritage Insurance had a return on equity of 29.17% and a net margin of 9.10%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Heritage Insurance will post 1.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Heritage Insurance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul L. Whiting purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.35 per share, with a total value of $133,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 79,576 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ernie J. Garateix acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $12.77 per share, for a total transaction of $63,850.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,270,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,228,218.16. This represents a 0.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 21,000 shares of company stock worth $280,450. Company insiders own 14.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Insurance

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Insurance during the 4th quarter valued at $134,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Insurance in the 4th quarter valued at $296,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Heritage Insurance by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 115,131 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,393,000 after buying an additional 5,579 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Heritage Insurance by 222.2% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,900 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in Heritage Insurance in the fourth quarter valued at $303,000. 59.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.