Renaissancere Holdings Ltd. Invests $24.14 Million in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc $UVE

Renaissancere Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 583,771 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $24,144,769. Universal Insurance comprises 0.0% of Renaissancere Holdings Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Renaissancere Holdings Ltd. owned about 2.10% of Universal Insurance at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the 2nd quarter valued at $111,007,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,007,725 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,861,000 after buying an additional 54,004 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Universal Insurance by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 815,484 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,566,000 after acquiring an additional 134,805 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Universal Insurance by 9.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 805,199 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,083,000 after purchasing an additional 69,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Universal Insurance by 212.3% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 596,370 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,685,000 after acquiring an additional 405,403 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Universal Insurance

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.27, for a total value of $885,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 1,104,645 shares in the company, valued at $48,902,634.15. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 15.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UVE traded up $0.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $43.71. The company had a trading volume of 31,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 204,723. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.72. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 12 month low of $24.09 and a 12 month high of $45.15.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.27. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 37.67%. The firm had revenue of $419.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $614.62 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on UVE. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Zacks Research lowered Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Universal Insurance from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

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.