HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the seven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $231.6667.

Several brokerages recently commented on HCI. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of HCI Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of HCI Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of HCI Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of HCI Group in a research report on Friday, January 16th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCI Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in HCI Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 839,621 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $160,947,000 after buying an additional 32,167 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in HCI Group by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 556,670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $106,842,000 after buying an additional 35,029 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in HCI Group by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 384,788 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $73,760,000 after buying an additional 17,299 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in HCI Group by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 354,884 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,870,000 after buying an additional 36,348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in HCI Group by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 352,935 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,739,000 after buying an additional 50,378 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

HCI Group Stock Down 0.3%

HCI stock opened at $156.00 on Friday. HCI Group has a 12 month low of $136.37 and a 12 month high of $210.50. The firm has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 6.85 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

HCI Group (NYSE:HCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $5.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.26 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $242.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.09 million. HCI Group had a net margin of 32.64% and a return on equity of 30.88%. Equities research analysts forecast that HCI Group will post 17.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCI Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. HCI Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.02%.

About HCI Group

HCI Group, Inc (NYSE: HCI) is a holding company whose principal business is the underwriting and issuance of property and casualty insurance through its insurance subsidiaries. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, the company focuses primarily on personal-line insurance products, writing homeowners, condominium, renters and mobile home policies. HCI Group also offers wind-only and flood coverage in coastal regions across the state, providing tailored solutions to both coastal and non-coastal communities.

The company distributes its insurance products through a network of independent agents and brokers, leveraging local market expertise to assess risk and deliver personalized service.