Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $28.57 and last traded at $28.52, with a volume of 139346 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $26.56.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Universal Insurance currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.35, for a total value of $507,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 1,303,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,044,029.20. This trade represents a 1.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 16.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of UVE. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 3,499.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 17,348 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 16,866 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 19.3% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,658 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 2,851 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 2.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,064 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $594,000 after buying an additional 649 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance during the first quarter valued at approximately $251,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 4.9% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,971 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Universal Insurance Stock Up 6.7%

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.88. The firm has a market cap of $802.84 million, a PE ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.14. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 4.24%.The business had revenue of $596.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.98 million. Analysts expect that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is presently 27.95%.

About Universal Insurance

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated insurance holding company in the United States. It develops, markets, and underwrites insurance products for personal residential insurance, such as homeowners, renters/tenants, condo unit owners, and dwelling/fire; and offers allied lines, coverage for other structures, and personal property, liability, and personal articles coverages.