Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Invests $10.53 Million in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc $UVE

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 254,595 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,530,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter worth $54,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 390.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,656 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 2,114 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 4,847.3% during the first 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. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 492.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,796 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 2,324 shares during the period. Finally, Archer Investment Corp bought a new position in Universal Insurance in the first quarter valued at about $95,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.27, for a total transaction of $885,400.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,104,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,902,634.15. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 15.00% of the company’s stock.

Universal Insurance Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE UVE opened at $43.62 on Thursday. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 52-week low of $24.03 and a 52-week high of $45.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $41.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.79.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $419.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $614.62 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 37.67%. Analysts expect that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 4.85 EPS for the current year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. 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 (DPR) is presently 8.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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