Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Sunday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on UVE. Zacks Research downgraded Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Universal Insurance from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Universal Insurance currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Universal Insurance Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:UVE opened at $42.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.72. Universal Insurance has a fifty-two week low of $23.32 and a fifty-two week high of $45.15. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.82.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $419.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $614.62 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 37.67%. Analysts predict that Universal Insurance will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is 8.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.27, for a total transaction of $885,400.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,104,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,902,634.15. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 60,000 shares of company stock worth $2,424,400. 15.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Universal Insurance

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Universal Insurance by 4.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,976 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 171.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 343,786 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,148,000 after purchasing an additional 217,184 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 73.1% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 81,829 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,939,000 after buying an additional 34,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the first quarter worth approximately $180,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

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.