Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Downgraded to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UVE opened at $21.78 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $20.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.80. The company has a market cap of $611.87 million, a PE ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Universal Insurance has a twelve month low of $16.50 and a twelve month high of $23.39.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $384.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.91 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%. On average, analysts predict that Universal Insurance will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Universal Insurance Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Universal Insurance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is currently 32.16%.

Insider Transactions at Universal Insurance

In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total transaction of $441,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 990,200 shares in the company, valued at $21,863,616. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jon Springer sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.63, for a total value of $515,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 383,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,905,993.64. This represents a 6.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 115,000 shares of company stock worth $2,424,450 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 13,804 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 732 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Universal Insurance by 55.6% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Universal Insurance by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,189 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Universal Insurance by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Universal Insurance by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,758 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 2,083 shares during the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.