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

HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) was the target of a large growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,090,000 shares, a growth of 10.2% from the May 31st total of 988,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 148,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.3 days. Approximately 13.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCI Group news, insider Anthony Saravanos sold 20,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.78, for a total value of $2,437,548.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,503,400. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other HCI Group news, insider Anthony Saravanos sold 20,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.78, for a total value of $2,437,548.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,503,400. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Paresh Patel bought 1,000 shares of HCI Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $114.90 per share, for a total transaction of $114,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 349,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,100,100. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 25.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of HCI Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in HCI Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in HCI Group by 399.4% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 1,773 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 1,418 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in HCI Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $155,000. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in HCI Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in HCI Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $219,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

HCI Group Stock Down 2.1 %

HCI opened at $90.80 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $99.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.76. The company has a market cap of $951.58 million, a PE ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 1.13. HCI Group has a 1 year low of $48.84 and a 1 year high of $121.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.61.

HCI Group (NYSE:HCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The insurance provider reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $206.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.17 million. HCI Group had a net margin of 17.72% and a return on equity of 40.30%. Sell-side analysts expect that HCI Group will post 11.68 earnings per share for the current year.

HCI Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. HCI Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HCI shares. William Blair raised shares of HCI Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Compass Point upped their price objective on shares of HCI Group from $90.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of HCI Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. JMP Securities upped 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 note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of HCI Group in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.75.

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.