HCI Group (NYSE:HCI) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $124.00 and last traded at $119.63, with a volume of 89422 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $113.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on HCI. StockNews.com lowered shares of HCI Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Compass Point reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of HCI Group in a research note on Monday. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of HCI Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCI Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.25.

HCI Group Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $103.32 and its 200-day moving average is $100.17.

HCI Group (NYSE:HCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The insurance provider reported $4.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.63. HCI Group had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 21.63%. The company had revenue of $206.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $196.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that HCI Group, Inc. will post 12.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in HCI Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $939,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of HCI Group by 153.6% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,326 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $860,000 after acquiring an additional 5,649 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HCI Group by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 45,387 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,269,000 after acquiring an additional 14,086 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in HCI Group by 271.1% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 30,783 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,573,000 after purchasing an additional 22,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its position in HCI Group by 19.0% in the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 35,520 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,120,000 after purchasing an additional 5,676 shares during the last quarter. 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.