Sean Downes Sells 20,000 Shares of Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.27, for a total value of $885,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 1,104,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,902,634.15. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of Universal Insurance stock opened at $44.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $40.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.58. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 52 week low of $23.25 and a 52 week high of $45.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.72.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $419.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $614.62 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 37.67% and a net margin of 13.49%. As a group, analysts expect that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.44%.

Institutional Trading of Universal Insurance

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter worth $54,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Universal Insurance by 390.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,656 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 2,114 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 4,847.3% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance in the first quarter worth about $95,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 492.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,796 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 2,324 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UVE. Wall Street Zen lowered Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Zacks Research downgraded Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Universal Insurance from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

Universal Insurance Company Profile

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc (NYSE: UVE) is a property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. The company underwrites homeowners and other residential property insurance products to protect against natural catastrophes such as hurricanes, windstorms and fires. It distributes policies primarily through a network of independent agents and brokers, offering coverage for primary residences, secondary homes, condominiums, vacant dwellings and rental properties across its service territory.

In addition to personal lines, Universal provides commercial property and casualty insurance tailored to small businesses and institutional clients.