Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong Sell”

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

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on HRTG. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Heritage Insurance from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heritage Insurance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Citigroup reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Heritage Insurance in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Heritage Insurance from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.00.

Heritage Insurance Trading Up 3.6%

NYSE:HRTG opened at $22.99 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $697.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.03. Heritage Insurance has a 52 week low of $16.83 and a 52 week high of $31.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.04.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The insurance provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $212.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $215.39 million. Heritage Insurance had a net margin of 23.76% and a return on equity of 43.68%. On average, equities analysts expect that Heritage Insurance will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy Moura sold 29,133 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.63, for a total transaction of $775,811.79. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 210,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,606,547.05. This represents a 12.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 130,918 shares of company stock valued at $3,446,606 in the last three months. Company insiders own 14.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Heritage Insurance in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $984,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Heritage Insurance by 514.4% in the 3rd quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 76,798 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,934,000 after buying an additional 64,298 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Heritage Insurance by 201.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 64,490 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,624,000 after buying an additional 43,113 shares during the period. Instrumental Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Heritage Insurance by 116.1% in the 3rd quarter. Instrumental Wealth LLC now owns 60,060 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,401,000 after buying an additional 32,269 shares during the period. Finally, Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Heritage Insurance by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 458,929 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,556,000 after buying an additional 98,246 shares during the period. 59.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Heritage Insurance Company Profile

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.