Short Interest in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Decreases By 59.4%

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 546,050 shares, a drop of 59.4% from the July 30th total of 1,344,189 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 175,782 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Insider Activity at Universal Insurance

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 4.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,976 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 171.5% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 343,786 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,148,000 after buying an additional 217,184 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 805,199 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,083,000 after buying an additional 69,289 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in Universal Insurance by 73.1% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 81,829 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,939,000 after buying an additional 34,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new position in Universal Insurance in the 1st quarter valued at $180,000. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

UVE traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $43.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 124,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 203,081. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $42.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Universal Insurance has a 12 month low of $24.09 and a 12 month high of $45.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.72.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $419.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $614.62 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 37.67% and a net margin of 13.49%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Universal Insurance will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 was Friday, July 31st. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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