HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) Short Interest Up 8.0% in December

HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,080,000 shares, an increase of 8.0% from the November 30th total of 1,000,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 163,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.6 days. Approximately 13.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of HCI Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of HCI Group during the second quarter worth about $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of HCI Group by 80.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 398 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in HCI Group by 49.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 911 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in HCI Group by 34.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in HCI Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on HCI shares. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of HCI Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of HCI Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on HCI Group from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Compass Point reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of HCI Group in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCI Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.00.

HCI Group Stock Performance

NYSE:HCI opened at $116.53 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $115.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.61. HCI Group has a 12 month low of $81.35 and a 12 month high of $126.50.

HCI Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. HCI Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.37%.

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.