Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) Stock

Key Points

• Truist Financial has increased its price target for Heritage Insurance from $30.00 to $35.00, indicating a potential upside of 24.85% from the current stock price.
• Heritage Insurance's recent quarterly earnings beat analysts' estimates, reporting $1.55 earnings per share against a consensus of $1.03, demonstrating strong financial performance.
• The company has seen significant insider activity, with a director purchasing 2,500 shares at $20.50 each, while another officer sold 21,000 shares at an average price of $24.47.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Truist Financial from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the insurance provider's stock. Truist Financial's price objective suggests a potential upside of 27.91% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on HRTG. Zacks Research raised shares of Heritage Insurance to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Heritage Insurance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $31.50.

Heritage Insurance Price Performance

HRTG stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $27.36. 148,517 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 379,361. Heritage Insurance has a fifty-two week low of $8.70 and a fifty-two week high of $29.10. The stock has a market cap of $848.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $22.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $208.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $212.12 million. Heritage Insurance had a net margin of 12.71% and a return on equity of 33.36%. Research analysts predict that Heritage Insurance will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Heritage Insurance news, CEO Ernie J. Garateix sold 25,000 shares of Heritage Insurance stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.61, for a total value of $615,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,245,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,659,334.88. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sharon Binnun sold 21,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.47, for a total value of $513,870.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 176,006 shares in the company, valued at $4,306,866.82. This trade represents a 10.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 166,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,027,520. 14.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Insurance

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in Heritage Insurance during the first quarter worth about $1,727,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Heritage Insurance by 46.1% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 384,948 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,658,000 after acquiring an additional 121,518 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Heritage Insurance by 8.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 509,080 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,341,000 after purchasing an additional 40,220 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Heritage Insurance by 8.4% in the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 485,631 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,003,000 after purchasing an additional 37,763 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Heritage Insurance in the first quarter valued at approximately $751,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.03% of the company's stock.

About Heritage Insurance

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.