Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $45.34 and last traded at $45.1740, with a volume of 122897 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.51.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Universal Insurance from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Universal Insurance from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.00.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $43.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Insurance

In other news, Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.98, for a total transaction of $879,600.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,084,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,702,687.10. The trade was a 1.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 15.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Universal Insurance during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $111,007,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the second quarter worth approximately $29,849,000. Renaissancere Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the second quarter worth $24,144,769. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the second quarter worth $10,530,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance in the second quarter valued at $8,104,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

About Universal Insurance

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.