Zacks Research Downgrades Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) to Hold

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

UVE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.00.

Universal Insurance Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE UVE opened at $40.75 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 0.73. Universal Insurance has a 1 year low of $21.96 and a 1 year high of $41.96. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.48.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $398.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $481.09 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 37.51% and a net margin of 12.22%. Research analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance will post 4.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,148,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,886,306.10. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 60,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,332,800. 15.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Universal Insurance

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Universal Insurance by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,007,725 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,861,000 after purchasing an additional 54,004 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 843,059 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $22,172,000 after buying an additional 85,312 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 134,805 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 805,199 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,083,000 after buying an additional 69,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 212.3% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 596,370 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,685,000 after buying an additional 405,403 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

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.