Insider Selling: Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sells $669,200.00 in Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.46, for a total value of $669,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,263,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,277,111.52. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of UVE stock opened at $33.13 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $30.53 and a 200-day moving average of $27.19. The company has a market cap of $929.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.81 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 52 week low of $18.72 and a 52 week high of $35.84.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $400.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $366.36 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 28.25%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a dividend yield of 195.0%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on UVE. Zacks Research upgraded Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Universal Insurance presently has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 12.7% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 371,982 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,783,000 after acquiring an additional 41,830 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 131,777 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,466,000 after purchasing an additional 14,875 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 23,161 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Universal Insurance by 212.3% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Universal Insurance by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 102,196 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,931 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

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.