Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.27 EPS

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The insurance provider reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.27, FiscalAI reports. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 37.51%. The firm had revenue of $419.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $614.62 million.

Universal Insurance Trading Up 7.4%

Shares of Universal Insurance stock opened at $40.47 on Friday. Universal Insurance has a 1 year low of $21.96 and a 1 year high of $43.96. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.57. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UVE. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research cut Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Universal Insurance from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.22, for a total value of $764,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,148,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,886,306.10. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 60,000 shares of company stock worth $2,332,800. 15.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of UVE. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Universal Insurance by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,976 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 171.5% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 343,786 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,148,000 after acquiring an additional 217,184 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 805,199 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,083,000 after purchasing an additional 69,289 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 73.1% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 81,829 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,939,000 after purchasing an additional 34,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Universal Insurance in the first quarter valued at about $180,000. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Universal Insurance

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc (NYSE: UVE) is a property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. The company underwrites homeowners and other residential property insurance products to protect against natural catastrophes such as hurricanes, windstorms and fires. It distributes policies primarily through a network of independent agents and brokers, offering coverage for primary residences, secondary homes, condominiums, vacant dwellings and rental properties across its service territory.

In addition to personal lines, Universal provides commercial property and casualty insurance tailored to small businesses and institutional clients.