Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sells $676,400.00 in Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.82, for a total value of $676,400.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,243,512 shares in the company, valued at $42,055,575.84. This trade represents a 1.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Universal Insurance Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of UVE stock opened at $33.86 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.12 and a 200 day moving average of $27.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 1-year low of $18.72 and a 1-year high of $35.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $949.63 million, a PE ratio of 7.98 and a beta of 0.74.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $400.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $366.36 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 28.25% and a net margin of 7.74%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.09%.

Institutional Trading of Universal Insurance

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UVE. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the third quarter worth $32,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Universal Insurance in the 1st quarter valued at $59,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Universal Insurance in the 1st quarter worth $64,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 28.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,597 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 390.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,656 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 2,114 shares in the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UVE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, December 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”.

Universal Insurance Company Profile

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.