Sean Downes Sells 20,000 Shares of Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.46, for a total transaction of $669,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 1,263,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,277,111.52. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Universal Insurance Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of UVE opened at $33.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $929.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.81 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 1-year low of $18.72 and a 1-year high of $35.84. The company has a 50-day moving average of $30.53 and a 200 day moving average of $27.18.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.26. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 28.25%. The business had revenue of $400.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $366.36 million. On average, research analysts expect that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a yield of 195.0%. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is 15.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on UVE shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Universal Insurance currently has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 371,982 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,783,000 after buying an additional 41,830 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in Universal Insurance by 12.7% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 131,777 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,466,000 after acquiring an additional 14,875 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in Universal Insurance by 14.8% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 23,161 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 212.3% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 596,370 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,685,000 after purchasing an additional 405,403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 1.9% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 102,196 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,931 shares in 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.