Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also commented on UVE. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a report on Friday, July 17th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Universal Insurance from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Insurance has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

NYSE:UVE opened at $43.53 on Friday. Universal Insurance has a 52-week low of $22.87 and a 52-week high of $45.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.66 and a 200 day moving average of $36.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.72.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.27. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 37.67% and a net margin of 13.49%.The business had revenue of $419.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $614.62 million. On average, research analysts expect that Universal Insurance will post 4.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Universal Insurance

In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.22, for a total value of $764,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,148,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,886,306.10. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 15.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Universal Insurance

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,388,000. Pursuit Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter valued at $1,745,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,007,725 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,861,000 after purchasing an additional 54,004 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter valued at $1,006,000. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 37.6% during the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 72,031 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,435,000 after purchasing an additional 19,673 shares during the last quarter. 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.