Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Trading Down 6.4% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Universal Insurance's stock price dropped by 6.4%, reaching $23.18 during mid-day trading, with a significant trading volume decline of 40% compared to its average.
• Analysts upgraded Universal Insurance from a "buy" to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating increased confidence in the company's performance.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, which translates to an annual yield of 2.74% and a payout ratio of 27.95%.
• Insider trading activity included notable sales by the director Jon Springer and Chairman Sean P. Downes, which suggests potential shifts in ownership dynamics.

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 6.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $23.53 and last traded at $23.18. Approximately 126,890 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 211,108 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.77.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $26.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $656.35 million, a P/E ratio of 10.17 and a beta of 0.86.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.14. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.31% and a return on equity of 15.73%. The firm had revenue of $596.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.98 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Universal Insurance's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jon Springer sold 30,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total transaction of $811,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 301,835 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,167,655.10. The trade was a 9.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 25,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $24,936,608.97. This represents a 2.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 101,393 shares of company stock valued at $2,687,275 over the last ninety days. 16.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Universal Insurance

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 80.2% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,367 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 2,833 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in Universal Insurance in the second quarter worth $902,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new stake in Universal Insurance in the second quarter worth $206,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Universal Insurance by 23.7% in the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19,185 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 3,678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, A&I Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Universal Insurance in the second quarter worth $558,000. 66.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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