Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $23.55 and last traded at $23.41, with a volume of 245464 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Universal Insurance Stock Up 2.4 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.86. The stock has a market cap of $657.59 million, a P/E ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $384.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $349.91 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Universal Insurance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is 32.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total transaction of $1,025,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 985,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,208,913.20. This represents a 4.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 90,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,908,700 over the last quarter. 17.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 55.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter worth $103,000. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in Universal Insurance by 45,981.8% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,069 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 5,058 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Universal Insurance in the fourth quarter valued at about $121,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Universal Insurance during the fourth quarter worth about $118,000. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Universal Insurance Company Profile

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated insurance holding company in the United States. It develops, markets, and underwrites insurance products for personal residential insurance, such as homeowners, renters/tenants, condo unit owners, and dwelling/fire; and offers allied lines, coverage for other structures, and personal property, liability, and personal articles coverages.