Sean P. Downes Sells 20,000 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.47, for a total transaction of $449,400.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,082,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,318,427.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Universal Insurance Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:UVE opened at $21.85 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $20.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.72. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $12.86 and a 1 year high of $23.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $629.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.57 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

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

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Insurance

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 424.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,395 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the second quarter worth $196,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 17.4% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,374 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 1,833 shares during the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the first quarter worth about $289,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Universal Insurance during the fourth quarter worth about $296,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

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.