Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 89,875 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 49% from the previous session’s volume of 177,413 shares.The stock last traded at $20.61 and had previously closed at $19.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on UVE. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Universal Insurance in a research report on Monday, April 1st.

Universal Insurance Trading Down 4.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $550.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.84 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.81.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $367.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $336.09 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 5.29%. On average, research analysts expect that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.31, for a total transaction of $366,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,142,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,914,817.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.31, for a total value of $366,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,142,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,914,817.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael Pietrangelo sold 12,351 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total value of $252,330.93. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 80,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,635,911.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 52,351 shares of company stock valued at $1,012,931. 17.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UVE. AJOVista LLC bought a new position in Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Occidental Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Universal Insurance during the 2nd quarter worth $196,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Universal Insurance by 17.4% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,374 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 1,833 shares during the period. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in Universal Insurance during the 1st quarter worth $289,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter worth $296,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Universal Insurance Company Profile

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated insurance holding company in the United States. It develops, markets, and underwrites insurance products for personal residential insurance, such as homeowners, renters/tenants, condo unit owners, and dwelling/fire; and offers allied lines, coverage for other structures, and personal property, liability, and personal articles coverages.