Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Sets New 52-Week High at $22.38

Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $22.38 and last traded at $20.61, with a volume of 121316 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.30.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on UVE. TheStreet upgraded Universal Insurance from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Universal Insurance in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Universal Insurance from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.23. The company has a market cap of $567.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11 and a beta of 0.83.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $375.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $328.12 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 4.80%. As a group, research analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Insurance

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.53, for a total transaction of $390,600.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,191,390 shares in the company, valued at $23,267,846.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 17.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Universal Insurance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AJOVista LLC acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Universal Insurance by 0.5% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 433,706 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,081,000 after purchasing an additional 2,175 shares during the last quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Universal Insurance by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC now owns 58,825 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $940,000 after purchasing an additional 3,967 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 226,344 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,617,000 after purchasing an additional 5,374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 73,185 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after buying an additional 9,093 shares during the period. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Universal Insurance

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated insurance holding company in the United States. It develops, markets, and underwrites insurance products for personal residential insurance, such as homeowners, renters/tenants, condo unit owners, and dwelling/fire; and offers allied lines, coverage for other structures, and personal property, liability, and personal articles coverages.