HCI Group (NYSE:HCI) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Shares of HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $162.85, but opened at $167.43. HCI Group shares last traded at $167.06, with a volume of 16,025 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HCI. Compass Point upgraded HCI Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of HCI Group from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.25.

HCI Group Stock Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $151.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.61.

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

HCI Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. HCI Group's payout ratio is 15.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in HCI Group during the 4th quarter valued at $432,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of HCI Group by 80.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 102,916 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $11,781,000 after buying an additional 45,920 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in HCI Group by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 10,493 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,223,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in HCI Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 22,315 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,600,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in HCI Group by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 60,332 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,030,000 after acquiring an additional 4,152 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.