Sean Downes Sells 20,000 Shares of Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.73, for a total transaction of $774,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,168,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,246,516.15. This represents a 1.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Universal Insurance Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE UVE traded down $0.36 on Friday, reaching $38.67. 189,672 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 202,424. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a fifty-two week low of $21.96 and a fifty-two week high of $41.96. The company has a 50 day moving average of $35.71 and a 200 day moving average of $33.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.77.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.61. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 37.51%. The company had revenue of $398.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $481.09 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio is 9.48%.

Institutional Trading of Universal Insurance

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC grew its position in Universal Insurance by 0.9% in the first quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 30,056 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 1.8% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19,526 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 1.5% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 23,509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $803,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 30,712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $965,000 after buying an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 9,674 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UVE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $40.00.

About Universal Insurance

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc (NYSE: UVE) is a property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. The company underwrites homeowners and other residential property insurance products to protect against natural catastrophes such as hurricanes, windstorms and fires. It distributes policies primarily through a network of independent agents and brokers, offering coverage for primary residences, secondary homes, condominiums, vacant dwellings and rental properties across its service territory.

In addition to personal lines, Universal provides commercial property and casualty insurance tailored to small businesses and institutional clients.