Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRTG) Short Interest Update

Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRTG) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 681,300 shares, a drop of 8.7% from the January 15th total of 746,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 210,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised Heritage Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th.

Heritage Insurance Price Performance

Shares of HRTG stock traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $12.40. The company had a trading volume of 190,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 177,171. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $11.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.30. Heritage Insurance has a 52-week low of $6.14 and a 52-week high of $16.90. The company has a market capitalization of $380.43 million, a P/E ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Nicholas George Pappas sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.64, for a total value of $50,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 76,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,608.96. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 14.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HRTG. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Heritage Insurance by 222.2% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Heritage Insurance in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Heritage Insurance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $121,000. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. bought a new position in shares of Heritage Insurance during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $133,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Insurance in the fourth quarter valued at $134,000. 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.