Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $44.36 and last traded at $43.72, with a volume of 69194 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on UVE shares. Wall Street Zen cut Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Universal Insurance in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.64. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 0.72.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 37.67% and a net margin of 13.49%.The business had revenue of $419.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $614.62 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 4.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.44%.

Insider Transactions at Universal Insurance

In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.22, for a total transaction of $764,400.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 1,148,255 shares in the company, valued at $43,886,306.10. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 60,000 shares of company stock worth $2,332,800. Company insiders own 15.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Universal Insurance

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,007,725 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,861,000 after purchasing an additional 54,004 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 815,484 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,566,000 after acquiring an additional 134,805 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 9.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 805,199 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,083,000 after purchasing an additional 69,289 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Universal Insurance by 212.3% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 596,370 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,685,000 after purchasing an additional 405,403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Universal Insurance by 11.5% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 506,683 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,326,000 after purchasing an additional 52,187 shares in the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.