Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Stock Short Interest Report for September

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,196,016 shares, a growth of 83.5% from the September 15th total of 651,620 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 170,164 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.0 days. Currently, 5.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Universal Insurance Stock Up 0.6%

Universal Insurance stock traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.12. 139,311 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 199,094. The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 0.69. Universal Insurance has a twelve month low of $27.89 and a twelve month high of $47.69. 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 fifty day moving average of $43.77 and a 200-day moving average of $40.52.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.84 EPS 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 company had revenue of $419.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $614.62 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Universal Insurance will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chairman owned 1,084,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,702,687.10. The trade was a 1.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 15.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Universal Insurance by 4,847.3% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance in the 1st quarter valued at about $95,000. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Universal Insurance by 170,750.0% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 3,415 shares in the last quarter. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the 1st quarter valued at about $201,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 29.9% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,618 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 1,292 shares during the period. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UVE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Universal Insurance from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Universal Insurance from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings raised Universal Insurance from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

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.