HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) Short Interest Update

HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 964,700 shares, a drop of 6.3% from the March 15th total of 1,030,000 shares. Approximately 13.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 134,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.2 days.

HCI Group Price Performance

HCI traded up $1.58 on Wednesday, hitting $111.80. 88,290 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 149,918. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The business’s fifty day moving average is $106.42 and its 200 day moving average is $88.15. HCI Group has a fifty-two week low of $48.08 and a fifty-two week high of $121.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81 and a beta of 1.14.

HCI Group (NYSE:HCI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The insurance provider reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $1.81. The company had revenue of $162.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $146.09 million. HCI Group had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 36.40%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.06 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that HCI Group will post 10.33 EPS for the current year.

HCI Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. HCI Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.16%.

Insider Activity

In other HCI Group news, CEO Paresh Patel bought 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $111.00 per share, for a total transaction of $55,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 349,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,794,500. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other HCI Group news, CEO Paresh Patel bought 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $111.00 per share, with a total value of $55,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 349,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,794,500. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Anthony Saravanos sold 20,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.78, for a total transaction of $2,437,548.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,503,400. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,102 shares of company stock worth $13,198,303 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 25.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of HCI Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of HCI Group by 0.4% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,077,392 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $66,561,000 after purchasing an additional 4,127 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of HCI Group by 3.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 558,696 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $38,092,000 after purchasing an additional 21,054 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of HCI Group by 2.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 380,933 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,972,000 after purchasing an additional 9,798 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of HCI Group by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 305,506 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,701,000 after buying an additional 37,465 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of HCI Group by 3.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 221,412 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,003,000 after buying an additional 8,145 shares during the period. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on HCI. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of HCI Group in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of HCI Group from $96.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Compass Point upped their target price on shares of HCI Group from $90.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. William Blair raised shares of HCI Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of HCI Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.00.

HCI Group Company Profile

HCI Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the property and casualty insurance, insurance management, reinsurance, real estate, and information technology businesses in Florida. It provides residential insurance products, such as homeowners, fire, flood, and wind-only insurance to homeowners, condominium owners, and tenants for properties, as well as offers reinsurance programs.