Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Director Jon Springer Sells 25,000 Shares of Company Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Director Jon Springer sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.77, for a total value of $1,219,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 225,734 shares in the company, valued at $11,009,047.18. The trade was a 9.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Jon Springer also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, November 4th, Jon Springer sold 16,380 shares of Universal Insurance stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.96, for a total value of $801,964.80.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

NYSE UVE opened at $47.27 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.17. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 52 week low of $28.32 and a 52 week high of $50.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.63.

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

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UVE. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Universal Insurance by 83.7% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 599 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 23,509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $803,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Universal Insurance by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,495 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its stake in Universal Insurance by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 6,771 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Universal Insurance in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UVE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Zacks Research upgraded Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Universal Insurance from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Universal Insurance from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.00.

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.