Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.16 (NYSE:UVE)

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, April 14th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of 0.16 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th.

Universal Insurance has a dividend payout ratio of 21.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Universal Insurance to earn $2.65 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.2%.

Universal Insurance Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE UVE traded up $0.30 on Friday, reaching $23.21. The company had a trading volume of 93,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 177,188. The company's fifty day moving average is $21.80 and its 200-day moving average is $20.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $651.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 0.76. 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 has a 1-year low of $16.50 and a 1-year high of $24.14.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.16. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%. The business had revenue of $384.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $349.91 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Universal Insurance will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total value of $441,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 990,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,863,616. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Universal Insurance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th.

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.