Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 316,700 shares, a decrease of 16.3% from the February 13th total of 378,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 146,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

NYSE:UVE traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $21.61. 22,585 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 167,453. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $607.07 million, a P/E ratio of 8.78 and a beta of 0.84. 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 has a 1 year low of $16.50 and a 1 year high of $23.39.

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

Universal Insurance Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.16 dividend. This is a boost from Universal Insurance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chairman now owns 990,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,863,616. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 90,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,908,700. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Universal Insurance

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its holdings in Universal Insurance by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,720,519 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,234,000 after purchasing an additional 174,843 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Universal Insurance by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,674,545 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,266,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,496,224 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,510,000 after acquiring an additional 6,250 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 7.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 689,767 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,289,000 after acquiring an additional 49,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 608,889 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,823,000 after acquiring an additional 57,424 shares in the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.