Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

UVE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TheStreet upgraded Universal Insurance from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Piper Sandler reissued an overweight rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Universal Insurance in a research report on Monday, April 1st.

Universal Insurance Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:UVE opened at $20.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $581.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.91 and a beta of 0.84. Universal Insurance has a twelve month low of $11.15 and a twelve month high of $22.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

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

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.10%.

Insider Activity at Universal Insurance

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.53, for a total transaction of $390,600.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,191,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,267,846.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 17.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Insurance

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UVE. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 8.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 164,056 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,334,000 after acquiring an additional 12,392 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in Universal Insurance by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 313,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,378,000 after acquiring an additional 19,900 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 31.7% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,875 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 4,781 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 109.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,484 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 11,758 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 11,666.1% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 58,713 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 58,214 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Universal Insurance Company Profile

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.