Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 83.5% in September

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,196,016 shares, an increase of 83.5% from the September 15th total of 651,620 shares. Currently, 5.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 170,164 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.0 days.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

UVE stock traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.12. The company had a trading volume of 139,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 196,461. Universal Insurance has a one year low of $27.89 and a one year high of $47.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.57.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 37.67%. The business had revenue of $419.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $614.62 million. Research analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance will post 6.13 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Universal Insurance from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Universal Insurance currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

Insider Activity

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.98, for a total transaction of $879,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 1,084,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,702,687.10. The trade was a 1.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 15.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UVE. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance in the second quarter worth $1,381,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the second quarter valued at about $953,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Universal Insurance during the second quarter worth approximately $7,537,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the second quarter worth $3,270,000. Finally, Renaissancere Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the second quarter valued at about $24,144,769. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Universal Insurance Company Profile

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc (NYSE: UVE) is an insurance holding company focused primarily on personal residential property and casualty insurance. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides coverage designed to protect homeowners and other residential property owners against risks such as wind, fire, theft and other covered losses.

Universal’s products have historically included homeowners, condominium, renters and dwelling-fire insurance, along with related personal lines offerings.