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

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.23, for a total value of $964,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,064,645 shares in the company, valued at $51,347,828.35. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Universal Insurance Stock Down 0.5%

UVE opened at $48.64 on Thursday. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 1-year low of $28.32 and a 1-year high of $50.75. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.63.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.36. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 38.15% and a net margin of 13.94%. The business had revenue of $444.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $601.67 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, October 29th that authorizes the company to buy back $20 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Universal Insurance

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 83.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 599 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 1.5% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 23,509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $803,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 4.1% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,495 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 7.3% in the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 6,771 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UVE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Universal Insurance from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Zacks Research raised shares of Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Universal Insurance from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.00.

About Universal Insurance

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc (NYSE: UVE) is an insurance holding company that provides property and casualty insurance through its subsidiaries. Its primary business is personal residential insurance, with products designed to protect homeowners and other residential property owners against risks such as wind, fire, theft and other covered losses.

The company’s offerings include homeowners, condominium unit owners, renters and dwelling fire insurance, along with related residential property coverage.