Wall Street Zen Upgrades Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) to “Strong-Buy”

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Friday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Universal Insurance Stock Up 6.7%

Shares of NYSE UVE opened at $28.35 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $24.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $802.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 0.79. Universal Insurance has a 12-month low of $16.50 and a 12-month high of $28.61.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $596.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $359.98 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.24% and a return on equity of 15.37%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.35, for a total transaction of $507,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,303,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,044,029.20. This represents a 1.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 16.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its holdings in Universal Insurance by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,836,718 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,530,000 after purchasing an additional 116,199 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Universal Insurance by 9.4% in 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 in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Universal Insurance by 13.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 757,747 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $21,012,000 after acquiring an additional 89,106 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Universal Insurance by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 681,853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $18,909,000 after acquiring an additional 44,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Universal Insurance by 43.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 454,496 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,603,000 after acquiring an additional 138,732 shares in the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.