Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Lifted to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Universal Insurance in a research report on Monday, April 1st. TheStreet raised Universal Insurance from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th.

Universal Insurance Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of UVE stock opened at $19.81 on Friday. Universal Insurance has a fifty-two week low of $11.15 and a fifty-two week high of $22.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.46. The stock has a market cap of $569.72 million, a P/E ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 0.84.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.20. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 19.67%. The firm had revenue of $375.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $328.12 million. On average, analysts forecast that Universal Insurance will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.72, for a total transaction of $394,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,162,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,919,806.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 17.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UVE. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,702,188 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,201,000 after acquiring an additional 404,446 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $7,935,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in Universal Insurance by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 433,706 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,081,000 after purchasing an additional 2,175 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd purchased a new stake in Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,387,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 250.2% in the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 339,962 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,765,000 after purchasing an additional 242,895 shares in the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.