HCI Group (NYSE:HCI) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• HCI Group has been upgraded from a "buy" to a "strong-buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting increased confidence in the company's performance.
• Several analysts, including Compass Point and JMP Securities, have raised their price targets for HCI Group, with a consensus target price now at $181.25.
• In its latest quarterly earnings report, HCI Group reported an EPS of $5.18, exceeding analysts' expectations and highlighting a net margin of 18.58%.

HCI Group (NYSE:HCI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Compass Point raised HCI Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $148.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, May 30th. JMP Securities boosted 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.25.

HCI Group Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of HCI Group stock traded down $1.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $155.16. 27,701 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 135,327. The firm has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.78 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. HCI Group has a 52-week low of $90.01 and a 52-week high of $176.40. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $147.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.23.

HCI Group (NYSE:HCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The insurance provider reported $5.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.47 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $221.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $218.98 million. HCI Group had a return on equity of 25.84% and a net margin of 18.58%. On average, equities analysts predict that HCI Group will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCI. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in HCI Group during the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. USA Financial Formulas increased its position in HCI Group by 250.0% during the second quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 518 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in HCI Group by 16.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 596 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in HCI Group by 825.7% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 648 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 578 shares during the period. Finally, Simplex Trading LLC acquired a new position in HCI Group during the first quarter worth approximately $148,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company's stock.

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.