First Trust Advisors LP Buys Shares of 4,427 HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI)

First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,427 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $516,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of HCI Group by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 15,501 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,659,000 after acquiring an additional 6,756 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in HCI Group in the fourth quarter valued at $1,358,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in HCI Group by 93.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 113,710 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $13,251,000 after purchasing an additional 54,803 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in HCI Group by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 168,466 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $19,631,000 after purchasing an additional 23,610 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of HCI Group by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,345 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $739,000 after buying an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCI Group Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:HCI traded down $0.87 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $161.89. The company had a trading volume of 24,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 139,488. HCI Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $83.65 and a 12-month high of $176.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $144.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.37.

HCI Group (NYSE:HCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The insurance provider reported $5.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.49 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $216.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.89 million. HCI Group had a net margin of 19.37% and a return on equity of 34.17%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that HCI Group, Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCI Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. HCI Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, JMP Securities lifted their price target on HCI Group from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCI Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.25.

HCI Group 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.