Short Interest in Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRTG) Rises By 14.7%

Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRTG) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 1,292,970 shares, an increase of 14.7% from the February 12th total of 1,127,435 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 434,777 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 4.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 4.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 434,777 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Heritage Insurance Trading Down 2.5%

HRTG opened at $27.36 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.46. Heritage Insurance has a fifty-two week low of $13.27 and a fifty-two week high of $31.98. The company has a market cap of $840.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 9th. The insurance provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.54. Heritage Insurance had a net margin of 23.08% and a return on equity of 47.28%. The firm had revenue of $215.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.60 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Heritage Insurance will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ernie J. Garateix sold 8,334 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.12, for a total transaction of $201,016.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,120,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,018,500.40. This represents a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 25,002 shares of company stock worth $663,636 in the last quarter. 15.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Insurance

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Heritage Insurance by 3,774.7% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,906 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 2,831 shares during the last quarter. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Heritage Insurance during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Heritage Insurance by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 77,421 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,265,000 after buying an additional 25,711 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Heritage Insurance during the 4th quarter worth about $230,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Heritage Insurance by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 152,254 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,455,000 after buying an additional 9,090 shares during the period. 59.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on HRTG. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Heritage Insurance from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Citigroup reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Heritage Insurance in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Heritage Insurance in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Heritage Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $33.50.

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.