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

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCI Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in HCI Group in the second quarter worth $26,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in HCI Group by 141.5% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 4,106 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,406 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in HCI Group by 26.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,130 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in HCI Group by 10.7% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 97,156 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,955,000 after purchasing an additional 9,398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in HCI Group in the second quarter worth $235,000. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCI Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HCI traded up $2.26 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $108.14. The company had a trading volume of 102,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,871. HCI Group has a 52 week low of $50.01 and a 52 week high of $121.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.44. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50-day moving average is $93.41 and its 200 day moving average is $100.49.

HCI Group (NYSE:HCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The insurance provider reported $4.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.63. HCI Group had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The firm had revenue of $206.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $196.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that HCI Group will post 12.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCI Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. HCI Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HCI shares. StockNews.com cut HCI Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JMP Securities boosted their target price on HCI Group from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.25.

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.