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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Friday.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

Universal Insurance stock opened at $19.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $554.11 million, a P/E ratio of 7.55 and a beta of 0.89. Universal Insurance has a one year low of $13.85 and a one year high of $23.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $20.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.78.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.03. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 21.14% and a net margin of 5.60%. The business had revenue of $380.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $340.09 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Universal Insurance will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Universal Insurance

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $400,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,122,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,445,240. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $400,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,122,262 shares in the company, valued at $22,445,240. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jon Springer sold 35,173 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.53, for a total value of $722,101.69. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 473,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,729,146.47. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 75,173 shares of company stock valued at $1,571,502. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Universal Insurance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC grew its position in Universal Insurance by 40.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Universal Insurance by 424.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,395 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,374 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,833 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,963 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 2,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 235,801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,424,000 after buying an additional 4,140 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.