Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRTG) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRTG) was the target of a large growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,100,000 shares, a growth of 44.1% from the June 30th total of 763,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 422,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 4.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of Heritage Insurance in a report on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Heritage Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Heritage Insurance in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.00.

Heritage Insurance Price Performance

HRTG traded down $0.13 during trading on Monday, hitting $7.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 219,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 407,043. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Heritage Insurance has a twelve month low of $4.25 and a twelve month high of $11.23. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $233.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.90.

Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The insurance provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.14). Heritage Insurance had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 24.02%. The business had revenue of $191.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Heritage Insurance will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Insurance

In other news, CEO Ernie J. Garateix acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.21 per share, with a total value of $41,050.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,067,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,764,864.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Nicholas George Pappas sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.56, for a total transaction of $51,360.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 75,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $645,424. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ernie J. Garateix bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.21 per share, for a total transaction of $41,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,067,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,764,864.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 60,000 shares of company stock valued at $497,250 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 14.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Insurance

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HRTG. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Heritage Insurance during the second quarter worth $30,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Insurance in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Heritage Insurance by 8.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 96,678 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after buying an additional 7,203 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Heritage Insurance by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 104,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 12,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Insurance in the first quarter valued at $134,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.03% of the company’s stock.

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.