Insider Selling: Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sells $879,600.00 in Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.98, for a total transaction of $879,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,084,645 shares in the company, valued at $47,702,687.10. This trade represents a 1.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

NYSE UVE traded down $0.01 on Friday, hitting $44.21. 131,953 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 201,409. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.57. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.74. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 12 month low of $24.50 and a 12 month high of $45.15.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $419.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $614.62 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 37.67% and a net margin of 13.49%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 4.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is presently 8.44%.

Institutional Trading of Universal Insurance

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 390.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,656 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 2,114 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 4,847.3% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 492.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,796 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 2,324 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp bought a new position in Universal Insurance in the first quarter worth about $95,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Universal Insurance by 170,750.0% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 3,415 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Universal Insurance from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Universal Insurance from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

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.