Virtu Financial LLC Makes New Investment in HCI Group, Inc. $HCI

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC has purchased 1,702 shares of HCI Group, Inc., valued at approximately $254,000, indicating a new investment in the insurance sector.
• HCI Group recently reported $5.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates, and has plans to distribute a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share.
• Several analysts have upgraded HCI Group's stock ratings, with price targets reaching as high as $225.00, suggesting a positive market outlook for the company.

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,702 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of HCI Group by 16.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Simplex Trading LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCI Group in the first quarter worth $148,000. CCG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCI Group in the first quarter worth $246,000. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCI Group in the first quarter worth $274,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of HCI Group in the fourth quarter worth $255,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HCI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of HCI Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Compass Point raised shares of HCI Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of HCI Group from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, HCI Group currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.25.

HCI Group Stock Up 0.4%

HCI traded up $0.6190 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $163.1390. 107,740 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 150,961. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $146.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.83. The company has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.24. HCI Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.05 and a fifty-two week high of $176.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

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

HCI Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. HCI Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.18%.

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.