HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) Short Interest Up 11.2% in July

HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,190,000 shares, a growth of 11.2% from the June 30th total of 1,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 151,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.9 days. Currently, 14.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of HCI Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCI Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $155,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of HCI Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $262,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of HCI Group by 399.4% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 1,773 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 1,418 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of HCI Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $642,000. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCI Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $335,000. 86.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HCI shares. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of HCI Group from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of HCI Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of HCI Group in a research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCI Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.75.

HCI Group Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of HCI traded up $1.32 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $92.68. 77,030 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 140,383. The firm has a market cap of $971.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 1.13. 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $92.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.12.

HCI Group (NYSE:HCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The insurance provider reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $206.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.17 million. HCI Group had a net margin of 17.72% and a return on equity of 40.30%. Sell-side analysts forecast that HCI Group will post 11.63 earnings per share for the current year.

HCI Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. HCI Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.