EMC Capital Management Sells 2,341 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings Inc $UVE

EMC Capital Management cut its stake in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) by 41.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,257 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,341 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management’s holdings in Universal Insurance were worth $90,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Unison Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 1.5% during the first quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 37,991 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $900,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Universal Insurance by 4.9% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,971 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Universal Insurance by 4.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,976 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 24,656 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 14,269 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Insurance currently has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Insurance

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.40, for a total transaction of $628,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 1,283,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,302,276.80. This represents a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jon Springer sold 24,308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.51, for a total transaction of $838,869.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 247,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,535,013.20. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 99,743 shares of company stock valued at $3,086,882. Insiders own 16.60% of the company’s stock.

Universal Insurance Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Universal Insurance stock opened at $33.56 on Thursday. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 12-month low of $18.72 and a 12-month high of $35.84. The company has a market capitalization of $941.41 million, a P/E ratio of 7.92 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a yield of 195.0%. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is currently 15.09%.

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.