Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) Shares Down 5.5% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Heritage Insurance shares fell 5.5% on Wednesday, trading as low as $26.25 and ending near $25.98 on light volume well below its daily average.
• Analysts remain mixed but generally constructive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $33.50, though some firms recently downgraded or trimmed their ratings.
• The company recently missed earnings expectations, reporting $1.19 EPS versus $1.53 expected, while insider activity was mixed and institutional investors continue to hold the majority of shares.

Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRTG - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 5.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $26.25 and last traded at $25.9840. 29,159 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 376,686 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on HRTG shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Heritage Insurance from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Heritage Insurance from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Heritage Insurance from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Heritage Insurance from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Heritage Insurance from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.50.

Heritage Insurance Stock Down 3.6%

The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $804.88 million, a P/E ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.88.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The insurance provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.34). Heritage Insurance had a net margin of 23.76% and a return on equity of 43.68%. The firm had revenue of $212.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $215.39 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heritage Insurance

In other Heritage Insurance news, Director Paul L. Whiting bought 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.56 per share, for a total transaction of $376,960.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 103,126 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,429,648.56. This represents a 18.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sharon Binnun sold 9,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.58, for a total value of $244,536.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 105,588 shares in the company, valued at $2,806,529.04. The trade was a 8.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 35,934 shares of company stock worth $965,041 over the last 90 days. 9.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Insurance

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HRTG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Heritage Insurance by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,881,027 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $55,039,000 after acquiring an additional 234,296 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Heritage Insurance by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,246,923 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $32,732,000 after buying an additional 36,879 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Heritage Insurance by 8.7% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,024,357 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,793,000 after purchasing an additional 82,190 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Heritage Insurance by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 665,902 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $19,486,000 after purchasing an additional 34,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Heritage Insurance by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 507,577 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $14,852,000 after acquiring an additional 52,041 shares in the last quarter. 59.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Heritage Insurance

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.

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