Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Director Sells 25,000 Shares of Company Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Director Jon Springer sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.77, for a total transaction of $1,219,250.00. Following the sale, the director owned 225,734 shares in the company, valued at $11,009,047.18. The trade was a 9.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Jon Springer also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, November 4th, Jon Springer sold 16,380 shares of Universal Insurance stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.96, for a total transaction of $801,964.80.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

Universal Insurance stock traded down $1.51 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $47.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 317,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 202,769. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 12-month low of $28.32 and a 12-month high of $50.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $45.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.08.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $444.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $601.67 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 38.15%. Sell-side analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 6.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, October 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UVE. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in Universal Insurance in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,381,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the 2nd quarter worth $7,537,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the 2nd quarter worth $953,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,270,000. Finally, Renaissancere Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the 2nd quarter valued at $24,144,769. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on UVE shares. Wall Street Zen cut Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Zacks Research upgraded Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised Universal Insurance from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Universal Insurance from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.00.

About Universal Insurance

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc (NYSE: UVE) is an insurance holding company that provides property and casualty insurance through its subsidiaries. Its primary business is personal residential insurance, with products designed to protect homeowners and other residential property owners against risks such as wind, fire, theft and other covered losses.

The company’s offerings include homeowners, condominium unit owners, renters and dwelling fire insurance, along with related residential property coverage.