Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) Raised to “Strong-Buy” 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 report published on Monday morning.

Heritage Insurance Price Performance

HRTG stock opened at $12.00 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $11.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.30. Heritage Insurance has a 52-week low of $6.14 and a 52-week high of $16.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $368.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Heritage Insurance had a net margin of 9.10% and a return on equity of 29.17%. The company had revenue of $210.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.87 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Heritage Insurance will post 1.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Insurance declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to repurchase up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Insurance

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Heritage Insurance by 222.2% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Heritage Insurance during the 4th quarter valued at $121,000. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. purchased a new stake in Heritage Insurance during the 4th quarter valued at $133,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Heritage Insurance during the 4th quarter valued at $134,000. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Heritage Insurance by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 12,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 2,210 shares during the last quarter. 59.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.