Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Thursday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an overweight rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Universal Insurance in a research note on Monday, April 1st. TheStreet upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Monday, February 26th.

Universal Insurance Trading Up 0.3 %

UVE opened at $19.33 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $559.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.79 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.70. Universal Insurance has a fifty-two week low of $11.15 and a fifty-two week high of $21.75.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $375.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $328.12 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.80% and a return on equity of 18.14%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.09%.

Insider Activity at Universal Insurance

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.53, for a total transaction of $390,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,191,390 shares in the company, valued at $23,267,846.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 17.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 66,362 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $703,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its position in Universal Insurance by 3.8% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 25,286 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 916 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Universal Insurance by 2.4% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,479 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Universal Insurance by 4.1% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 29,313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Universal Insurance by 4.4% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,576 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

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.