Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday.

Heritage Insurance Stock Performance

Heritage Insurance stock opened at $12.00 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $11.55 and a 200-day moving average of $12.30. The firm has a market cap of $368.05 million, a P/E ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 1.00. Heritage Insurance has a 1-year low of $6.14 and a 1-year high of $16.90.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The insurance provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.83. The company had revenue of $210.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.87 million. Heritage Insurance had a net margin of 9.10% and a return on equity of 29.17%. Sell-side analysts expect that Heritage Insurance will post 1.86 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Insurance announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to repurchase 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 stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Insurance

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Heritage Insurance by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 56,825 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $688,000 after buying an additional 1,640 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Heritage Insurance by 222.2% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of Heritage Insurance by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 13,419 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Heritage Insurance by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 12,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Heritage Insurance by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 366,595 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,479 shares during the last quarter. 59.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.