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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total value of $441,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 990,200 shares in the company, valued at $21,863,616. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

Universal Insurance stock opened at $22.15 on Friday. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.50 and a 52-week high of $23.39. The company has a market cap of $626.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $20.08 and its 200 day moving average is $20.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $384.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $349.91 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.82% and a return on equity of 15.43%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. This is a positive change from Universal Insurance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Universal Insurance by 240.1% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,881 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 55.6% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 776 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter worth about $103,000. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 45,981.8% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,069 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 5,058 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter valued at about $118,000. Institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised Universal Insurance from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th.

About Universal Insurance

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.