HCI Group (NYSE:HCI) Reaches New 52-Week High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $129.48 and last traded at $129.07, with a volume of 8721 shares. The stock had previously closed at $123.96.

The insurance provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.75) by $3.06. HCI Group had a net margin of 19.37% and a return on equity of 34.17%. The business had revenue of $161.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $175.11 million.

HCI Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. HCI Group’s payout ratio is 13.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of HCI Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on HCI Group from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HCI Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of HCI Group by 77.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 15,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,659,000 after purchasing an additional 6,756 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP bought a new stake in HCI Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $621,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in HCI Group by 152.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,234 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,380,000 after buying an additional 13,434 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in HCI Group by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 56,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,015,000 after buying an additional 7,914 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HCI Group by 49.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 32,571 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,487,000 after buying an additional 10,795 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HCI Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $119.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.80. The company has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 1.12.

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.