Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Issues 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) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The insurance provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.14, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $596.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.98 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 4.24%.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

NYSE:UVE traded down $1.85 on Friday, reaching $22.93. The stock had a trading volume of 682,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 296,604. The company has a market capitalization of $645.34 million, a P/E ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 0.86. Universal Insurance has a 1-year low of $16.50 and a 1-year high of $28.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.35.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. Universal Insurance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at Universal Insurance

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.91, for a total value of $672,750.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 926,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,936,608.97. The trade was a 2.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jon Springer sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total value of $811,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 101,393 shares of company stock worth $2,687,275. Company insiders own 16.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UVE. 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. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 9.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 805,199 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $19,083,000 after purchasing an additional 69,289 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 73.1% during 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. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Universal Insurance during the first quarter worth approximately $180,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,976 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.61% of the company's stock.

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.

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