Wall Street Zen Upgrades Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) to Strong-Buy

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Zacks Research lowered Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Universal Insurance from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Universal Insurance presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

NYSE UVE opened at $43.92 on Friday. Universal Insurance has a 12 month low of $26.61 and a 12 month high of $45.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.27. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 37.67% and a net margin of 13.49%.The firm had revenue of $419.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $614.62 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Universal Insurance will post 4.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Universal Insurance

In other news, Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.98, for a total value of $879,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 1,084,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,702,687.10. This trade represents a 1.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 15.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the second quarter worth approximately $1,381,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the second quarter worth approximately $3,270,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Universal Insurance during the second quarter valued at approximately $953,000. Renaissancere Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Universal Insurance during the second quarter valued at approximately $24,144,769. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Universal Insurance in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,537,000. 66.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Universal Insurance Company Profile

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc (NYSE: UVE) is an insurance holding company focused primarily on personal residential property and casualty insurance. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides coverage designed to protect homeowners and other residential property owners against risks such as wind, fire, theft and other covered losses.

Universal’s products have historically included homeowners, condominium, renters and dwelling-fire insurance, along with related personal lines offerings.