HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) Short Interest Up 7.1% in October

HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) saw a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,210,000 shares, an increase of 7.1% from the September 30th total of 1,130,000 shares. Approximately 14.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 158,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCI Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Khrom Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 406,698 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in HCI Group by 130.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 110,271 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,164,000 after purchasing an additional 62,438 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HCI Group by 1,648.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 56,996 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,102,000 after purchasing an additional 53,737 shares during the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of HCI Group by 6.3% in the 2nd 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 stake in shares of HCI Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,407,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

HCI Group Price Performance

HCI traded down $1.02 on Friday, reaching $112.29. 72,616 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 145,003. HCI Group has a twelve month low of $61.23 and a twelve month high of $124.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $106.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.41.

HCI Group (NYSE:HCI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The insurance provider reported $4.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $206.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $196.67 million. HCI Group had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 21.63%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that HCI Group will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

HCI Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. HCI Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of HCI Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Compass Point reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (up previously from $119.00) on shares of HCI Group in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of HCI Group in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, HCI Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.25.

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.