Short Interest in HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) Grows By 10.8%

HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,330,000 shares, a growth of 10.8% from the July 31st total of 1,200,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 133,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 10.0 days. Currently, 16.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCI Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HCI. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in HCI Group by 399.4% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 1,773 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 1,418 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in HCI Group in the fourth quarter valued at $335,000. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of HCI Group by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 14,200 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,241,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of HCI Group by 304.9% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 32,027 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,799,000 after buying an additional 24,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of HCI Group in the 4th quarter worth about $671,000. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of HCI Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JMP Securities boosted their price target on HCI Group from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.25.

HCI Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCI traded down $1.30 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $94.53. The stock had a trading volume of 35,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 137,747. HCI Group has a 1 year low of $49.61 and a 1 year high of $121.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $91.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.46. The company has a market capitalization of $990.30 million, a PE ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 1.13.

HCI Group (NYSE:HCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The insurance provider reported $4.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $206.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $196.67 million. HCI Group had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 21.63%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that HCI Group will post 12.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCI Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. HCI Group’s payout ratio is 16.28%.

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.