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

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.40, for a total transaction of $628,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 1,283,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,302,276.80. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of UVE opened at $30.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $871.21 million, a PE ratio of 7.26 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.91. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 12-month low of $18.72 and a 12-month high of $33.00.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $592.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $366.36 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 28.25%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 42.9% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 43,862 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,040,000 after acquiring an additional 13,177 shares during the period. Informed Momentum Co LLC acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance in the first quarter valued at $855,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance in the first quarter valued at $487,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance in the first quarter valued at $2,197,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 5.3% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 207,913 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,928,000 after acquiring an additional 10,486 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on UVE shares. Zacks Research raised Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

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.