HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) Short Interest Up 5.7% in April

HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,020,000 shares, a growth of 5.7% from the March 31st total of 964,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 138,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.4 days. Approximately 13.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on HCI shares. William Blair upgraded HCI Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of HCI Group in a report on Monday, April 15th. Compass Point increased 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. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of HCI Group in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of HCI Group from $96.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, HCI Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.00.

HCI Group Stock Performance

Shares of HCI stock opened at $114.17 on Thursday. HCI Group has a 12 month low of $48.08 and a 12 month high of $121.57. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.37. The firm has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

HCI Group (NYSE:HCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The insurance provider reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $1.81. The company had revenue of $162.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that HCI Group will post 10.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCI Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. HCI Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.16%.

Insider Activity at HCI Group

In other news, General Counsel Andrew L. Graham sold 29,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.01, for a total value of $3,394,226.08. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 21,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,553,041.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, General Counsel Andrew L. Graham sold 29,008 shares of HCI Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.01, for a total transaction of $3,394,226.08. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 21,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,553,041.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sanjay Madhu sold 3,294 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.72, for a total transaction of $391,063.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 71,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,512,936.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,102 shares of company stock worth $13,198,303. 25.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCI Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HCI. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in HCI Group by 1.1% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 9,544 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,108,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of HCI Group by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $874,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCI Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in HCI Group by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 3,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in HCI Group by 12.2% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 4,152 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the period. 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.