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

HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) was the target of a large increase in short interest in 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. Currently, 13.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 148,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at HCI Group

In other HCI Group news, insider Anthony Saravanos sold 3,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $363,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 50,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,850,395. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Anthony Saravanos sold 3,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $363,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,850,395. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Andrew L. Graham sold 29,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were 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 owns 21,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,553,041.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 53,041 shares of company stock valued at $6,195,175. 25.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of HCI Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Khrom Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in HCI Group by 792.2% during the 1st quarter. Khrom Capital Management LLC now owns 180,506 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,953,000 after buying an additional 160,274 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in HCI Group during the 4th quarter worth about $5,633,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in HCI Group by 344.4% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 72,022 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,360,000 after purchasing an additional 55,817 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in HCI Group by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 499,948 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $58,034,000 after purchasing an additional 31,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in HCI Group by 304.9% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 32,027 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,799,000 after purchasing an additional 24,117 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

HCI Group Stock Performance

NYSE HCI opened at $92.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $966.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50 day moving average is $100.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.78. HCI Group has a 12-month low of $48.84 and a 12-month high of $121.57. 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 (NYSE:HCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The insurance provider reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $206.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.17 million. HCI Group had a return on equity of 40.30% and a net margin of 17.72%. Research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. HCI Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.28%.

About HCI Group

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.