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 Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.22, for a total value of $764,400.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 1,148,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,886,306.10. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

NYSE UVE traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $37.97. 95,639 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 196,541. The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 12-month low of $21.96 and a 12-month high of $41.96.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $398.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $481.09 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 37.51% and a net margin of 12.22%. As a group, analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 4.63 EPS for the current year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UVE. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 390.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,656 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 2,114 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 4,847.3% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the 1st quarter worth approximately $95,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Universal Insurance by 492.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,796 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the period. 66.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Insurance presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

About Universal Insurance

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc (NYSE: UVE) is a property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. The company underwrites homeowners and other residential property insurance products to protect against natural catastrophes such as hurricanes, windstorms and fires. It distributes policies primarily through a network of independent agents and brokers, offering coverage for primary residences, secondary homes, condominiums, vacant dwellings and rental properties across its service territory.

In addition to personal lines, Universal provides commercial property and casualty insurance tailored to small businesses and institutional clients.