Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Sunday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on UVE. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

Universal Insurance Stock Up 1.1%

Universal Insurance stock opened at $33.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $932.38 million, a P/E ratio of 7.84 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a fifty day moving average of $31.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.68. Universal Insurance has a twelve month low of $18.72 and a twelve month high of $35.84.

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

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is presently 15.09%.

Insider Activity

In other Universal Insurance news, Director Jon Springer sold 35,435 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.41, for a total transaction of $1,113,013.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 271,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,531,835.48. The trade was a 11.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.46, for a total value of $669,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,263,512 shares in the company, valued at $42,277,111.52. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 99,743 shares of company stock worth $3,249,082. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Universal Insurance during the first quarter valued at approximately $59,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the first quarter worth approximately $64,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 28.6% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,597 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 390.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,656 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 2,114 shares in the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.