Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on UVE. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Universal Insurance in a research report on Monday, April 1st. TheStreet upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

Universal Insurance stock opened at $19.54 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $19.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $566.07 million, a P/E ratio of 7.66 and a beta of 0.83. Universal Insurance has a 52 week low of $11.15 and a 52 week high of $22.38.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.20. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The business had revenue of $375.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $328.12 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Universal Insurance will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.53, for a total transaction of $390,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,191,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,267,846.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 17.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. AJOVista LLC bought a new stake in Universal Insurance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Universal Insurance in the third quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new stake in Universal Insurance in the third quarter valued at approximately $153,000. Laurion Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Universal Insurance in the third quarter valued at approximately $154,000. Finally, Olympiad Research LP bought a new stake in Universal Insurance in the third quarter valued at approximately $174,000. 66.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.