EMC Capital Management Reduces Stake in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

EMC Capital Management lessened its position in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) by 66.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,598 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 11,290 shares during the quarter. EMC Capital Management’s holdings in Universal Insurance were worth $114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in Universal Insurance during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in Universal Insurance during the first quarter worth approximately $289,000. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Universal Insurance during the fourth quarter worth approximately $296,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System acquired a new position in Universal Insurance during the first quarter worth approximately $326,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $356,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Universal Insurance Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of UVE stock opened at $19.29 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $18.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.94. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.15 and a twelve month high of $22.38. The company has a market capitalization of $549.38 million, a P/E ratio of 7.56 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.03. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 21.14% and a net margin of 5.60%. The firm had revenue of $380.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $340.09 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Universal Insurance from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th.

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 Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.31, for a total value of $366,200.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,142,262 shares in the company, valued at $20,914,817.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.31, for a total transaction of $366,200.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,142,262 shares in the company, valued at $20,914,817.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael Pietrangelo sold 12,351 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total value of $252,330.93. Following the sale, the director now owns 80,074 shares in the company, valued at $1,635,911.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,351 shares of company stock worth $1,018,531 over the last three months. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Universal Insurance 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.