Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Sets New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $28.57 and last traded at $28.52, with a volume of 139346 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.56.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.35, for a total transaction of $507,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,303,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,044,029.20. The trade was a 1.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 16.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,836,718 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,530,000 after purchasing an additional 116,199 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 805,199 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,083,000 after purchasing an additional 69,289 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 13.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 757,747 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $21,012,000 after purchasing an additional 89,106 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 681,853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $18,909,000 after purchasing an additional 44,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 43.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 454,496 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,603,000 after purchasing an additional 138,732 shares in the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $802.84 million, a PE ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $24.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.88.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $596.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.98 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 4.24%. Research analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.95%.

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.