Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Heritage Insurance from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Heritage Insurance in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Heritage Insurance from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heritage Insurance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Heritage Insurance has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.50.

Heritage Insurance Price Performance

Heritage Insurance stock opened at $33.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $986.44 million, a P/E ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.89. Heritage Insurance has a 12-month low of $20.48 and a 12-month high of $36.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $26.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.26.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.80. Heritage Insurance had a net margin of 25.19% and a return on equity of 44.15%. The firm had revenue of $214.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.71 million. Equities analysts predict that Heritage Insurance will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Heritage Insurance

In other Heritage Insurance news, insider Timothy Moura sold 15,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.49, for a total value of $490,728.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 144,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,709,133.09. This trade represents a 9.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sharon Binnun sold 9,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.03, for a total value of $276,276.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 96,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,894,531.64. This represents a 8.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,704 shares of company stock worth $1,235,653. 9.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Insurance

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRTG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Heritage Insurance in the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,842,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Heritage Insurance by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,881,027 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $55,039,000 after acquiring an additional 234,296 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Heritage Insurance by 3.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,246,923 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,732,000 after acquiring an additional 36,879 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 82,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Insurance by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 665,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,486,000 after acquiring an additional 34,996 shares in the last quarter. 59.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.