Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sells 20,000 Shares of Company Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.23, for a total transaction of $964,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,064,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,347,828.35. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

NYSE:UVE traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $48.81. The stock had a trading volume of 303,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 202,089. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a one year low of $28.32 and a one year high of $50.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.63.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.36. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 38.15%. The firm had revenue of $444.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $601.67 million. Research analysts forecast that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 29th that allows the company to repurchase $20 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on UVE shares. Wall Street Zen cut Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Universal Insurance from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Universal Insurance from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.00.

Institutional Trading of Universal Insurance

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Universal Insurance during the third quarter valued at approximately $545,000. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 7.3% during the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 6,771 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance during the third quarter worth approximately $225,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 83.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 599 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $145,000. Institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

About Universal Insurance

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc (NYSE: UVE) is an insurance holding company that provides property and casualty insurance through its subsidiaries. Its primary business is personal residential insurance, with products designed to protect homeowners and other residential property owners against risks such as wind, fire, theft and other covered losses.

The company’s offerings include homeowners, condominium unit owners, renters and dwelling fire insurance, along with related residential property coverage.