Have you been paying attention to shares of HCI Group (HCI)? Shares have been on the move with the stock up 16% over the past month. The stock hit a new 52-week high of $142.37 in the previous session. HCI Group has gained 20.5% since the start of the year compared to the 4.3% move for the Zacks Finance sector and the 14.5% return for the Zacks Insurance - Property and Casualty industry.

What's Driving the Outperformance?

The stock has an impressive record of positive earnings surprises, as it hasn't missed our earnings consensus estimate in any of the last four quarters. In its last earnings report on February 27, 2025, HCI Group reported EPS of $0.31 versus consensus estimate of $-2.75 while it missed the consensus revenue estimate by 1.22%.

For the current fiscal year, HCI Group is expected to post earnings of $14.98 per share on $881.26 million in revenues. This represents a 102.16% change in EPS on a 17.49% change in revenues. For the next fiscal year, the company is expected to earn $13.70 per share on $930.68 million in revenues. This represents a year-over-year change of -8.56% and 5.61%, respectively.

Valuation Metrics

HCI Group may be at a 52-week high right now, but what might the future hold for the stock? A key aspect of this question is taking a look at valuation metrics in order to determine if the company has run ahead of itself.

On this front, we can look at the Zacks Style Scores, as they provide investors with an additional way to sort through stocks (beyond looking at the Zacks Rank of a security). These styles are represented by grades running from A to F in the categories of Value, Growth, and Momentum, while there is a combined VGM Score as well. The idea behind the style scores is to help investors pick the most appropriate Zacks Rank stocks based on their individual investment style.

HCI Group has a Value Score of A. The stock's Growth and Momentum Scores are D and B, respectively, giving the company a VGM Score of B.

In terms of its value breakdown, the stock currently trades at 9.4X current fiscal year EPS estimates, which is not in-line with the peer industry average of 11.8X. On a trailing cash flow basis, the stock currently trades at 16.9X versus its peer group's average of 12.7X. This isn't enough to put the company in the top echelon of all stocks we cover from a value perspective.

Zacks Rank

We also need to consider the stock's Zacks Rank, as this supersedes any trend on the style score front. Fortunately, HCI Group currently has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) thanks to favorable earnings estimate revisions from covering analysts.

Since we recommend that investors select stocks carrying Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and Style Scores of A or B, it looks as if HCI Group fits the bill. Thus, it seems as though HCI Group shares could have potential in the weeks and months to come.

How Does HCI Stack Up to the Competition?

Shares of HCI have been soaring, and the company still appears to be a decent choice, but what about the rest of the industry? One industry peer that looks good is United Fire Group, Inc (UFCS). UFCS has a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy) and a Value Score of A, a Growth Score of B, and a Momentum Score of D.

Earnings were strong last quarter. United Fire Group, Inc beat our consensus estimate by 89.39%, and for the current fiscal year, UFCS is expected to post earnings of $2.42 per share on revenue of $1.39 billion.

Shares of United Fire Group, Inc have gained 8.7% over the past month, and currently trade at a forward P/E of 12.05X and a P/CF of 9.58X.

The Insurance - Property and Casualty industry is in the top 18% of all the industries we have in our universe, so it looks like there are some nice tailwinds for HCI and UFCS, even beyond their own solid fundamental situation.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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