Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) Downgraded to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Heritage Insurance Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE HRTG traded down $0.23 on Tuesday, reaching $13.56. 123,374 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 386,872. Heritage Insurance has a fifty-two week low of $6.14 and a fifty-two week high of $16.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $415.92 million, a P/E ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 1.00. The business's fifty day moving average price is $11.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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

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Heritage Insurance announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to purchase up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ernie J. Garateix bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.77 per share, with a total value of $63,850.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,270,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,228,218.16. This trade represents a 0.40 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul L. Whiting acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.35 per share, for a total transaction of $133,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 79,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,062,339.60. This represents a 14.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 21,000 shares of company stock worth $280,450 over the last 90 days. 14.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Heritage Insurance by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,569,667 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $18,993,000 after acquiring an additional 193,590 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Insurance by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,328,135 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $16,070,000 after buying an additional 9,452 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Insurance by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 944,639 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $11,430,000 after purchasing an additional 182,624 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Heritage Insurance by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 813,557 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $9,844,000 after buying an additional 205,195 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Heritage Insurance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,799,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.03% of the company's stock.

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.