StockNews.com Lowers Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) to Buy

StockNews.com cut shares of Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

Separately, TheStreet upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Monday, February 26th.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

NYSE UVE opened at $20.32 on Wednesday. Universal Insurance has a 1 year low of $11.15 and a 1 year high of $21.75. The business’s fifty day moving average is $18.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $588.67 million, a P/E ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53.

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. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 4.80%. The business had revenue of $375.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $328.12 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Universal Insurance will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio is 29.09%.

Insider Activity at Universal Insurance

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.53, for a total transaction of $390,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,191,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,267,846.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 17.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UVE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,503,081 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $24,019,000 after buying an additional 4,002 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Universal Insurance by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 25,452 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 4,469 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Universal Insurance by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 92,152 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 9,986 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in Universal Insurance by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 261,781 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,183,000 after purchasing an additional 13,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter worth about $314,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

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.