Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• Universal Insurance reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.09 and achieving a revenue of $596.72 million, compared to the estimate of $359.98 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, which is set to yield 2.79% on an annualized basis.
• Chairman Sean P. Downes and Director Jon Springer recently sold a combined total of 55,000 shares of Universal Insurance, indicating insider transactions in the company.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The insurance provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.14, Zacks reports. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.24% and a return on equity of 15.37%. The firm had revenue of $596.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.98 million.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

UVE traded down $0.12 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $23.41. 268,036 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 219,162. Universal Insurance has a fifty-two week low of $16.50 and a fifty-two week high of $28.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $26.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.43. The company has a market capitalization of $658.87 million, a P/E ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 0.86.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Universal Insurance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 25,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.91, for a total transaction of $672,750.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 926,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,936,608.97. The trade was a 2.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jon Springer sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total value of $811,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 301,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,167,655.10. This represents a 9.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 101,393 shares of company stock worth $2,687,275 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Insurance

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Universal Insurance by 4.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,976 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Universal Insurance in the first quarter worth $180,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in Universal Insurance by 73.1% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 81,829 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,939,000 after purchasing an additional 34,556 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Universal Insurance by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 805,199 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $19,083,000 after buying an additional 69,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Universal Insurance by 171.5% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 343,786 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $8,148,000 after buying an additional 217,184 shares in the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

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.