Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

Universal Insurance Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:UVE opened at $21.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $610.53 million, a P/E ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Universal Insurance has a 12-month low of $16.50 and a 12-month high of $23.39.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $384.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.91 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.82% and a return on equity of 15.43%. On average, equities analysts expect that Universal Insurance will post 1.66 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. This is an increase from Universal Insurance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total transaction of $441,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 990,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,863,616. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 90,000 shares of company stock worth $1,908,700. 17.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter worth $928,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter worth $594,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter worth $118,000. Man Group plc raised its holdings in Universal Insurance by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 71,313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,502,000 after acquiring an additional 17,020 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Universal Insurance by 120.6% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 126,602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,666,000 after acquiring an additional 69,205 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

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.