Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Heritage Insurance Trading Down 6.9 %

NYSE HRTG opened at $12.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.22. The company has a market capitalization of $391.77 million, a PE ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Heritage Insurance has a 12 month low of $6.14 and a 12 month high of $16.90.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The insurance provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.83. The business had revenue of $210.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.87 million. Heritage Insurance had a return on equity of 29.17% and a net margin of 9.10%. Research analysts forecast that Heritage Insurance will post 1.86 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Insurance announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to purchase up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Heritage Insurance news, CEO Ernie J. Garateix purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.77 per share, for a total transaction of $63,850.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,270,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,228,218.16. The trade was a 0.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kirk Lusk purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $13.85 per share, with a total value of $83,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 618,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,569,770.60. This represents a 0.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 21,000 shares of company stock worth $280,450 over the last ninety days. 14.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HRTG. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Heritage Insurance during the fourth quarter worth about $7,799,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its position in shares of Heritage Insurance by 176.9% during the fourth quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 348,556 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,218,000 after buying an additional 222,689 shares during the period. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Heritage Insurance by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 813,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,844,000 after buying an additional 205,195 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Heritage Insurance by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,569,667 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $18,993,000 after buying an additional 193,590 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Heritage Insurance by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 944,639 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,430,000 after buying an additional 182,624 shares during the period. 59.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.