HCI Group (NYSE:HCI) Downgraded to Buy Rating 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 downgraded shares of HCI Group (NYSE:HCI - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday.

HCI has been the topic of several other reports. Compass Point upgraded 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. JMP Securities raised their price target 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.25.

HCI Group Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:HCI traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $163.89. The company had a trading volume of 100,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 147,535. HCI Group has a 12 month low of $91.06 and a 12 month high of $176.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.26.

HCI Group (NYSE:HCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. HCI Group had a return on equity of 25.84% and a net margin of 18.58%.The business had revenue of $221.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $218.98 million. On average, analysts predict that HCI Group will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

HCI Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. HCI Group's payout ratio is currently 14.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of HCI Group by 15.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 521,641 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $79,394,000 after purchasing an additional 68,860 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HCI Group by 6.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 241,881 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $36,819,000 after purchasing an additional 14,583 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of HCI Group by 46.8% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 185,430 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $28,222,000 after purchasing an additional 59,134 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of HCI Group by 24.8% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 180,420 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $27,460,000 after purchasing an additional 35,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of HCI Group by 13.3% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 175,376 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,171,000 after purchasing an additional 20,537 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.