Wall Street Zen Upgrades Hippo (NYSE:HIPO) to "Buy"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has upgraded Hippo (NYSE:HIPO) from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating, indicating growing confidence in the company's stock.
• Other analysts, including Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and B. Riley, have also raised their price targets for Hippo, suggesting a consensus target price of $34.25.
• Insider selling activity has been noted, with major shareholder Len Fw Investor, LLC reducing their ownership by 17.20% after selling over 514,000 shares.

Hippo (NYSE:HIPO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Sunday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Hippo from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. B. Riley upped their price target on Hippo from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target on Hippo from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hippo has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.25.

Hippo Stock Performance

Hippo stock opened at $30.88 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $776.94 million, a P/E ratio of -63.02 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.45. Hippo has a 52 week low of $15.74 and a 52 week high of $35.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Hippo (NYSE:HIPO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.65) by $1.30. The firm had revenue of $117.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.00 million. Hippo had a negative return on equity of 12.13% and a negative net margin of 2.52%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hippo will post -3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Hippo news, major shareholder Len Fw Investor, Llc sold 514,309 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.17, for a total transaction of $14,488,084.53. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,476,418 shares in the company, valued at $69,760,695.06. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Torben Ostergaard sold 2,444 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.95, for a total value of $73,197.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 64,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,927,252.55. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 521,642 shares of company stock valued at $14,681,601 over the last 90 days. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hippo

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Hippo by 418.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,402 shares of the company's stock valued at $179,000 after buying an additional 5,166 shares in the last quarter. Shay Capital LLC bought a new position in Hippo during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $204,000. G2 Investment Partners Management LLC bought a new position in Hippo during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,673,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Hippo by 256.5% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 40,773 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 29,337 shares during the period. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Hippo during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $283,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.01% of the company's stock.

Hippo Company Profile

Hippo Holdings Inc provides property and casualty insurance products to individuals and business customers primarily in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Services, Insurance-as-a-Service, and Hippo Home Insurance Program. Its insurance products include homeowners' insurance against risks of fire, wind, and theft, as well as other personal lines policies from third party carriers; and personal and commercial, as well as home, auto, cyber, small business, life, specialty lines, and other insurance products.

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