Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Stock: Insider Sean Downes Sells 20,000 Shares

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.23, for a total transaction of $964,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,064,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,347,828.35. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Universal Insurance Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of UVE traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $48.81. The company had a trading volume of 303,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 202,089. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $44.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 52-week low of $28.32 and a 52-week high of $50.75.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $444.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $601.67 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 38.15% and a net margin of 13.94%. On average, research analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 6.13 EPS for the current year.

Universal Insurance declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, October 29th that authorizes the company to buy back $20 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on UVE shares. Zacks Research raised Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Universal Insurance from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Universal Insurance from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance during the second quarter valued at approximately $111,007,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in Universal Insurance in the second quarter worth $29,849,000. Renaissancere Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Universal Insurance in the second quarter worth $24,144,769. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Universal Insurance in the second quarter valued at $10,530,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Universal Insurance in the second quarter valued at $8,104,000. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Universal Insurance Company Profile

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc (NYSE: UVE) is an insurance holding company that provides property and casualty insurance through its subsidiaries. Its primary business is personal residential insurance, with products designed to protect homeowners and other residential property owners against risks such as wind, fire, theft and other covered losses.

The company’s offerings include homeowners, condominium unit owners, renters and dwelling fire insurance, along with related residential property coverage.