HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in HCI Group, Inc. $HCI

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in HCI Group by 38.8%, selling 2,463 shares and holding 3,882 shares valued at approximately $579,000.
• Several institutional investors, including the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, made significant adjustments to their holdings in HCI Group during the first quarter, contributing to 86.99% institutional ownership of the stock.
• HCI Group reported $5.18 in earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and announced a dividend of $0.40 per share with a yield of 1.0%.

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI - Free Report) by 38.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,882 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 2,463 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in HCI Group were worth $579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of HCI Group by 16.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 596 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Simplex Trading LLC acquired a new stake in HCI Group during the 1st quarter worth $148,000. CCG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in HCI Group during the 1st quarter worth $246,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in HCI Group in the first quarter valued at $254,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of HCI Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $255,000. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered HCI Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. JMP Securities increased their price objective on HCI Group from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Compass Point raised HCI Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $148.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, May 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.25.

HCI Group Stock Performance

NYSE HCI traded up $2.44 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $172.92. 8,121 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 133,590. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 1.18. HCI Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.06 and a 12-month high of $176.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $149.32 and a 200 day moving average of $147.60.

HCI Group (NYSE:HCI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The insurance provider reported $5.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.47 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $221.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $218.98 million. HCI Group had a return on equity of 25.84% and a net margin of 18.58%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that HCI Group, Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

HCI Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. HCI Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.18%.

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.