Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s What Happened

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . 127,526 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the previous session’s volume of 181,331 shares.The stock last traded at $17.62 and had previously closed at $16.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $20.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.83. The firm has a market cap of $514.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.62 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $380.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $340.09 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 21.14% and a net margin of 5.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is 25.10%.

Insider Transactions at Universal Insurance

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.47, for a total transaction of $449,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,082,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,318,427.14. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.47, for a total transaction of $449,400.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,082,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,318,427.14. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jon Springer sold 35,173 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.53, for a total value of $722,101.69. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 473,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,729,146.47. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 75,173 shares of company stock valued at $1,571,502. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in Universal Insurance during the first quarter valued at about $289,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 11,666.1% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 58,713 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,193,000 after buying an additional 58,214 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 109.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,484 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 11,758 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Universal Insurance by 31.7% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,875 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 4,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in Universal Insurance by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 313,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,378,000 after buying an additional 19,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

About Universal Insurance

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.