Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) Stock Price Down 8.5% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Heritage Insurance's share price fell 8.5% on Wednesday, trading as low as $25.33 before closing at $24.96, with trading volume dropping to 112,360 shares, a 70% decrease from average volumes.
• Brokerage analysts have revised their ratings on HRTG, with one upgrading to a "strong-buy" and target prices varying from $30 to $35, while the average target price stands at $31.50.
• Insiders, including the Chairman and CFO, have sold a total of 166,000 shares worth approximately $4 million in the past 90 days, indicating a potential shift in confidence regarding the company’s stock performance.

Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRTG - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 8.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $25.33 and last traded at $24.96. 112,360 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 378,988 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.28.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on HRTG. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Heritage Insurance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Heritage Insurance to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Heritage Insurance from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.50.

Heritage Insurance Price Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $22.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $772.71 million, a PE ratio of 7.16 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $208.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.12 million. Heritage Insurance had a net margin of 12.71% and a return on equity of 33.36%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Insurance

In related news, Chairman Richard A. Widdicombe sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.15, for a total value of $2,415,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 599,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,466,985.05. This represents a 14.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kirk Lusk sold 20,000 shares of the 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 approximately $14,471,932.52. The trade was a 3.23% 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 and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HRTG. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Heritage Insurance by 4.2% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,621 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Heritage Insurance during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Heritage Insurance by 2,413.6% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Heritage Insurance by 77.3% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,035 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its position in Heritage Insurance by 33.2% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 5,749 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 1,432 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.03% of the company's stock.

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.

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