HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate HCI Group a consensus “Buy”: Five of seven analysts recommend buying the stock, one rates it a hold, and one gives it a strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $238.33.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 86.99%, with several major investors increasing their positions, including Arrowstreet Capital, Bank of America, and California State Teachers Retirement System.
• HCI shares opened at $183.24, above their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The insurer also exceeded quarterly EPS expectations and declared a $0.40 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 0.9% yield.

Shares of HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $238.3333.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised HCI Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised HCI Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded HCI Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on HCI Group in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock.

Institutional Trading of HCI Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of HCI Group by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 80,689 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $12,475,000 after purchasing an additional 8,292 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in HCI Group by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 14,136 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,123 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of HCI Group by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 3,030 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of HCI Group by 2,944.0% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 116,858 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $18,067,000 after purchasing an additional 113,019 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of HCI Group by 17.6% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 15,981 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,471,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company's stock.

HCI Group Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of HCI stock opened at $183.24 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $169.28 and a 200-day moving average of $163.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. HCI Group has a 12-month low of $136.37 and a 12-month high of $210.50. The company has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04 and a beta of 1.03.

HCI Group (NYSE:HCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $5.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.26 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $242.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $245.09 million. HCI Group had a net margin of 32.64% and a return on equity of 30.88%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that HCI Group will post 18.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCI Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. HCI Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.02%.

HCI Group Company Profile

HCI Group, Inc NYSE: HCI is a holding company whose principal business is the underwriting and issuance of property and casualty insurance through its insurance subsidiaries. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, the company focuses primarily on personal-line insurance products, writing homeowners, condominium, renters and mobile home policies. HCI Group also offers wind-only and flood coverage in coastal regions across the state, providing tailored solutions to both coastal and non-coastal communities.

The company distributes its insurance products through a network of independent agents and brokers, leveraging local market expertise to assess risk and deliver personalized service.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.