HCI Group (NYSE:HCI) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• HCI Group has been downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating, indicating a change in analysts' outlook towards the stock.
• JMP Securities raised its target price for HCI Group from $210.00 to $225.00, while Compass Point upgraded its rating from "neutral" to "buy" and set a target price of $205.00.
• HCI Group posted strong quarterly earnings with an EPS of $5.18, surpassing expectations, and reported a revenue of $221.92 million, indicating solid financial performance.

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of HCI Group (NYSE:HCI - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on HCI. JMP Securities raised their price target 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. Compass Point upgraded shares of HCI Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $181.25.

HCI Group Trading Down 0.9%

HCI Group stock traded down $1.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $163.97. The stock had a trading volume of 133,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 149,915. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $146.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.73. HCI Group has a twelve month low of $91.06 and a twelve month 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. The firm has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63 and a beta of 1.24.

HCI Group (NYSE:HCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The insurance provider reported $5.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.47 by $0.71. The firm 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that HCI Group will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCI Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. HCI Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.18%.

Institutional Trading of HCI Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HCI. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in HCI Group by 168.8% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 452,781 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $67,569,000 after purchasing an additional 284,315 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in HCI Group by 2,878.2% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 114,689 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $13,365,000 after acquiring an additional 110,838 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in HCI Group by 17,305.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 88,941 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $132,730,000 after purchasing an additional 88,430 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in HCI Group by 107.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 158,224 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $24,082,000 after purchasing an additional 81,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park West Asset Management LLC bought a new position in HCI Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,499,000. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company's stock.

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.