Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) Trading Up 3.4% – Time to Buy?

Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRTG) shares rose 3.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $14.15 and last traded at $14.25. 72,638 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 382,085 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.78.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Heritage Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th.

Heritage Insurance Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $12.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.15. The stock has a market cap of $632.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 1.00. 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) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The insurance provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.83. The firm had revenue of $210.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.87 million. Heritage Insurance had a return on equity of 29.17% and a net margin of 9.10%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.86 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Insurance declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heritage Insurance

In other Heritage Insurance news, Director Paul L. Whiting purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.35 per share, for a total transaction of $133,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 79,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,062,339.60. This trade represents a 14.37 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kirk Lusk acquired 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.85 per share, for a total transaction of $83,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 618,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,569,770.60. This trade represents a 0.98 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 21,000 shares of company stock valued at $280,450. 14.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in 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 worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Heritage Insurance during the fourth quarter worth about $121,000. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. acquired a new stake in Heritage Insurance in the 4th quarter valued at about $133,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Heritage Insurance in the 4th quarter worth approximately $134,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Heritage Insurance in the 4th quarter worth approximately $150,000. 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.