HCI Group (NYSE:HCI) Sees Large Volume Increase After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday after JMP Securities raised their price target on the stock from $120.00 to $135.00. JMP Securities currently has a market outperform rating on the stock. 262,443 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 98% from the previous session’s volume of 132,545 shares.The stock last traded at $106.57 and had previously closed at $115.26.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair raised shares of HCI Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on HCI Group from $96.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Compass Point upped their target price on HCI Group from $90.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of HCI Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, HCI Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sanjay Madhu sold 3,294 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.72, for a total value of $391,063.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 71,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,512,936.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other HCI Group news, CFO James Mark Harmsworth sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.12, for a total transaction of $2,342,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 15,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,805,990.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sanjay Madhu sold 3,294 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.72, for a total transaction of $391,063.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 71,706 shares in the company, valued at $8,512,936.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,102 shares of company stock worth $13,198,303. 25.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCI Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in HCI Group by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 186,053 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $16,261,000 after acquiring an additional 8,992 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in HCI Group by 344.4% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 72,022 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,360,000 after purchasing an additional 55,817 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of HCI Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,633,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of HCI Group by 45.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 45,387 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,269,000 after purchasing an additional 14,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HCI Group by 304.9% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 32,027 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,799,000 after purchasing an additional 24,117 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HCI Group Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $111.92 and a 200-day moving average of $94.31. The company has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

HCI Group (NYSE:HCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The insurance provider reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $1.81. HCI Group had a return on equity of 36.40% and a net margin of 14.35%. The business had revenue of $162.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $146.09 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.06 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that HCI Group, Inc. will post 10.33 earnings per share for the current year.

HCI Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. HCI Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.16%.

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.