Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean Downes Sells 20,000 Shares of Company Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.23, for a total transaction of $964,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,064,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,347,828.35. This trade represents a 1.84% 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 hyperlink.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

UVE stock opened at $48.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.99. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 52 week low of $28.32 and a 52 week high of $50.75.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.36. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 38.15%. The firm had revenue of $444.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $601.67 million. Research analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 29th that authorizes the company to buy back $20 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Universal Insurance from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Weiss Ratings raised Universal Insurance from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Universal Insurance by 83.7% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 599 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Universal Insurance during the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 4,847.3% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the first quarter worth about $95,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

About Universal Insurance

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc (NYSE: UVE) is an insurance holding company that provides property and casualty insurance through its subsidiaries. Its primary business is personal residential insurance, with products designed to protect homeowners and other residential property owners against risks such as wind, fire, theft and other covered losses.

The company’s offerings include homeowners, condominium unit owners, renters and dwelling fire insurance, along with related residential property coverage.