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

HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,210,000 shares, a growth of 7.1% from the September 30th total of 1,130,000 shares. Currently, 14.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 158,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

HCI Group Price Performance

HCI Group stock traded down $1.02 on Friday, reaching $112.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 72,616 shares, 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 company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77 and a beta of 1.13. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $106.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.41.

HCI Group (NYSE:HCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The insurance provider reported $4.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $206.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $196.67 million. HCI Group had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 21.63%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that HCI Group will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCI Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. HCI Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCI Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of HCI Group during the 1st quarter worth about $939,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of HCI Group by 153.6% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,326 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $860,000 after acquiring an additional 5,649 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in HCI Group by 45.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 45,387 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,269,000 after buying an additional 14,086 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of HCI Group by 271.1% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 30,783 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,573,000 after acquiring an additional 22,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its position in shares of HCI Group by 19.0% in the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 35,520 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,120,000 after purchasing an additional 5,676 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.