Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Heritage Insurance reached a new 52-week high of $28.21 after Truist Financial raised its price target from $30.00 to $35.00, maintaining a buy rating on the stock.
• Insider activity revealed that CEO Ernie J. Garateix sold 25,000 shares at $24.61 each, reducing his holdings by 1.97%, while CFO Kirk Lusk also sold shares, showing a trend of insider selling.
• Heritage Insurance reported earnings of $1.55 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts’ expectations, and has an average target price of $31.50 according to market consensus.

Shares of Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRTG - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $30.00 to $35.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Heritage Insurance traded as high as $28.21 and last traded at $28.11, with a volume of 229932 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $25.43.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Heritage Insurance to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.50.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Insurance

In other Heritage Insurance news, CFO Kirk Lusk sold 20,000 shares of Heritage Insurance stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.17, for a total transaction of $483,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 598,756 shares in the company, valued at $14,471,932.52. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard A. Widdicombe sold 100,000 shares of Heritage Insurance stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.15, for a total transaction of $2,415,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 599,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,466,985.05. This represents a 14.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 166,000 shares of company stock worth $4,027,520 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 14.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Insurance

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Heritage Insurance during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Heritage Insurance by 2,413.6% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Heritage Insurance by 77.3% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,035 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 1,323 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of Heritage Insurance by 252.3% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,259 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 2,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Heritage Insurance in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $127,000. 59.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Heritage Insurance Trading Up 0.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business's 50 day moving average is $22.48 and its 200 day moving average is $20.84. The stock has a market cap of $848.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89 and a beta of 1.05.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $208.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.12 million. Heritage Insurance had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 12.71%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.