Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Upgraded to Strong-Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on UVE. Piper Sandler reissued an overweight rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Universal Insurance in a research note on Monday, April 1st. TheStreet upgraded Universal Insurance from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

UVE opened at $20.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $581.18 million, a PE ratio of 7.91 and a beta of 0.84. Universal Insurance has a 1 year low of $11.15 and a 1 year high of $22.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $19.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.63.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.20. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 19.67%. The company had revenue of $375.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $328.12 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Universal Insurance will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.10%.

Insider Activity at Universal Insurance

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.53, for a total value of $390,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,191,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,267,846.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 17.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Universal Insurance by 8.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 164,056 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,334,000 after acquiring an additional 12,392 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Universal Insurance by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 313,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,378,000 after acquiring an additional 19,900 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 31.7% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,875 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 4,781 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 109.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,484 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 11,758 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Universal Insurance by 11,666.1% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 58,713 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,193,000 after buying an additional 58,214 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.