Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Boosts Stake in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE)

Key Points

• Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its stake in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc by 6.8% during Q1, owning approximately 6.53% of the company worth $43.53 million.
• Universal Insurance recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16, with an annualized yield of 2.7% and a payout ratio of 27.95%.
• Wall Street analysts have downgraded Universal Insurance from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating, indicating a shift in market sentiment.

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,836,718 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 116,199 shares during the quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned about 6.53% of Universal Insurance worth $43,530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UVE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Universal Insurance by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,674,545 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,266,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Universal Insurance by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,496,224 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,510,000 after purchasing an additional 6,250 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in Universal Insurance by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 366,877 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $7,726,000 after purchasing an additional 2,181 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Universal Insurance by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 357,100 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $7,521,000 after purchasing an additional 33,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Universal Insurance by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 325,910 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,864,000 after purchasing an additional 11,623 shares during the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Universal Insurance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

UVE stock traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $24.36. 152,668 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 268,379. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $25.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.75. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 12 month low of $16.50 and a 12 month high of $28.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $689.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 0.87.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.14. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 4.24%. The company had revenue of $596.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.98 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Universal Insurance's payout ratio is 27.95%.

Insider Transactions at Universal Insurance

In other Universal Insurance news, Director Jon Springer sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total transaction of $811,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 301,835 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,167,655.10. This represents a 9.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.91, for a total value of $672,750.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 926,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,936,608.97. The trade was a 2.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 75,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,011,350. 16.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Universal Insurance 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.