HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,110,000 shares, a decrease of 16.5% from the August 15th total of 1,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 129,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.6 days. Currently, 13.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCI Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Khrom Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of HCI Group by 225.3% during the second quarter. Khrom Capital Management LLC now owns 587,204 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,123,000 after acquiring an additional 406,698 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in HCI Group in the 4th quarter worth about $5,633,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in HCI Group by 130.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 110,271 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,164,000 after acquiring an additional 62,438 shares during the period. Hood River Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of HCI Group by 6.3% in the second quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 767,544 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $70,745,000 after acquiring an additional 45,668 shares during the period. Finally, West Coast Financial LLC bought a new position in HCI Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,407,000. 86.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on HCI. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of HCI Group from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com cut HCI Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities 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.com, HCI Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.25.

HCI Group Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:HCI traded up $0.92 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $106.80. The stock had a trading volume of 166,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 137,228. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $93.41 and its 200 day moving average is $100.49. HCI Group has a 12 month low of $50.01 and a 12 month high of $121.57.

HCI Group (NYSE:HCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The insurance provider reported $4.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $206.25 million during 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 last year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that HCI Group will post 12.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCI Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. HCI Group’s payout ratio is 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.