EP Wealth Advisors LLC Takes Position in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc $UVE

EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,482 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $558,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Universal Insurance during the fourth quarter valued at about $54,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Universal Insurance by 390.0% in 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. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Universal Insurance by 4,847.3% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 492.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,796 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 2,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the first quarter valued at about $95,000. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Universal Insurance

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.27, for a total value of $885,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,104,645 shares in the company, valued at $48,902,634.15. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 15.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Universal Insurance Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of NYSE:UVE opened at $43.64 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $41.57 and its 200 day moving average is $37.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 1 year low of $24.03 and a 1 year high of $45.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.72.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.27. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 37.67% and a net margin of 13.49%.The business had revenue of $419.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $614.62 million. On average, research analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on UVE shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Universal Insurance from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.00.

Universal Insurance Company Profile

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc (NYSE: UVE) is a property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. The company underwrites homeowners and other residential property insurance products to protect against natural catastrophes such as hurricanes, windstorms and fires. It distributes policies primarily through a network of independent agents and brokers, offering coverage for primary residences, secondary homes, condominiums, vacant dwellings and rental properties across its service territory.

In addition to personal lines, Universal provides commercial property and casualty insurance tailored to small businesses and institutional clients.