Short Interest in HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) Expands By 10.2%

HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,090,000 shares, an increase of 10.2% from the May 31st total of 988,900 shares. Approximately 13.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 148,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HCI has been the subject of several analyst reports. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of HCI Group from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. William Blair upgraded shares of HCI Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of HCI Group in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Compass Point upped their price objective on shares of HCI Group from $90.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of HCI Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCI Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.75.

HCI Group Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of HCI opened at $90.80 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. HCI Group has a 12-month low of $48.84 and a 12-month high of $121.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $99.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $951.58 million, a P/E ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 1.13.

HCI Group (NYSE:HCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The insurance provider reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.91. HCI Group had a net margin of 17.72% and a return on equity of 40.30%. The company had revenue of $206.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.17 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that HCI Group will post 11.68 EPS for the current year.

HCI Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. HCI Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Paresh Patel bought 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $111.00 per share, with a total value of $55,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 349,500 shares in the company, valued at $38,794,500. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other HCI Group news, insider Anthony Saravanos sold 20,873 shares of HCI Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.78, for a total transaction of $2,437,548.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,503,400. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Paresh Patel acquired 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $111.00 per share, with a total value of $55,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 349,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,794,500. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 25.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Khrom Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in HCI Group by 792.2% in the first quarter. Khrom Capital Management LLC now owns 180,506 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $20,953,000 after acquiring an additional 160,274 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in HCI Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,633,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in HCI Group by 344.4% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 72,022 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,360,000 after acquiring an additional 55,817 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in HCI Group by 6.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 499,948 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $58,034,000 after acquiring an additional 31,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in HCI Group by 304.9% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 32,027 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,799,000 after acquiring an additional 24,117 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

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.