Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Stock Price Up 3.1% – What’s Next?

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) shares rose 3.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $22.61 and last traded at $22.63. 43,084 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 168,853 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Universal Insurance Trading Up 3.4 %

The company has a market cap of $637.22 million, a P/E ratio of 9.22 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $20.56 and a 200 day moving average of $20.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $384.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $349.91 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.82% and a return on equity of 15.43%. On average, analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Universal Insurance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total transaction of $441,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 990,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,863,616. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 90,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,908,700. 17.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 776 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter valued at $103,000. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 5,058 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter worth $118,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the fourth quarter valued at about $121,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

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.