Insider Selling: Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.72, for a total value of $394,400.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,162,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,919,806.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Universal Insurance Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:UVE opened at $19.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.15 and a 12-month high of $22.38. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $569.74 million, a P/E ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 0.84.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $375.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $328.12 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 5.29%. Equities research analysts expect that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.10%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Universal Insurance during the third quarter worth about $140,000. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new position in Universal Insurance in the third quarter valued at about $153,000. Laurion Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the third quarter worth about $154,000. Finally, Olympiad Research LP acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the third quarter worth about $174,000. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UVE has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised Universal Insurance from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. TheStreet raised shares of Universal Insurance from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Universal Insurance in a research note on Monday, April 1st.

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.