Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Short Interest Update

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 546,050 shares, a decrease of 59.4% from the July 30th total of 1,344,189 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 175,782 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Insurance

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.27, for a total value of $885,400.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,104,645 shares in the company, valued at $48,902,634.15. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 15.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC boosted its position in Universal Insurance by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 30,056 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 1.5% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 23,509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $803,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 30,712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 9,674 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in Universal Insurance by 11.3% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,249 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UVE. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Universal Insurance from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Zacks Research cut shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Universal Insurance from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UVE opened at $43.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Universal Insurance has a 1-year low of $24.09 and a 1-year high of $45.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $41.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.87.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 37.67% and a net margin of 13.49%. Research analysts predict that Universal Insurance will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.44%.

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.