Short Interest in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Drops By 23.5%

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 313,000 shares, a decline of 23.5% from the October 31st total of 409,300 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 205,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.47, for a total value of $449,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,082,262 shares in the company, valued at $24,318,427.14. This trade represents a 1.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,064 shares of company stock valued at $1,191,937. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UVE. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 424.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,395 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 240.1% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,881 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Universal Insurance by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Universal Insurance during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $196,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the third quarter worth approximately $202,000. 66.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 10th.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

Shares of UVE opened at $22.79 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.11. Universal Insurance has a fifty-two week low of $15.63 and a fifty-two week high of $23.39. The stock has a market cap of $644.73 million, a PE ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The insurance provider reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.03) by $0.30. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%. The business had revenue of $387.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $341.98 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.16) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is currently 26.02%.

About Universal Insurance

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.