Hsbc Holdings PLC Makes New $614,000 Investment in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc $UVE

Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 14,872 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $614,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of UVE. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Universal Insurance during the second quarter worth $111,007,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,007,725 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,861,000 after acquiring an additional 54,004 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 19.8% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 69,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the 2nd quarter worth $29,849,000. Institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Universal Insurance Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:UVE opened at $43.97 on Thursday. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 1 year low of $24.13 and a 1 year high of $45.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

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

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.44%.

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 shares were 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 approximately $48,902,634.15. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 15.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UVE shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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 report on Monday, August 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.