LSV Asset Management Lowers Stock Position in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

LSV Asset Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 290,502 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,900 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Universal Insurance were worth $6,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UVE. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in Universal Insurance by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 13,804 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,415 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 2,160 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 76,132 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 3,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,674,545 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,266,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480 shares during the period. 66.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Universal Insurance

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total value of $441,600.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 990,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,863,616. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of UVE stock opened at $22.03 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $21.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $618.87 million, a PE ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 0.76. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.50 and a 1 year high of $24.14.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $384.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.91 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Universal Insurance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.16%.

Universal Insurance Profile

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.