Insider Selling: Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Director Sells 1,855 Shares of Stock

Key Points

  • CEO Stephen Donaghy sold 25,000 shares on Dec. 29 at an average price of $34.07 for proceeds of $851,750, trimming his stake by 3.55% to 679,961 shares (worth ~ $23.17M).
  • Solid recent results and valuation: Universal Insurance (UVE) has a market cap of about $948M and a P/E of 7.97, and in its most recent quarter (Oct. 23) reported EPS of $1.36 vs. $1.10 expected and revenue of $400.03M vs. $366.36M consensus.
  • Dividend and mixed analyst views: the company paid a special $0.13 dividend on Dec. 12, while analysts’ ratings are mixed but overall a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $40 (Piper Sandler raised its PT to $40; Zacks cut to Hold).

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) Director Richard Peterson sold 1,855 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.61, for a total value of $62,346.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $279,601.59. The trade was a 18.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of UVE opened at $33.81 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $948.37 million, a PE ratio of 7.97 and a beta of 0.74. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 52-week low of $18.72 and a 52-week high of $35.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.22.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $400.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $366.36 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 28.25% and a net margin of 7.74%. Equities research analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement




The business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Universal Insurance's payout ratio is 15.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on UVE shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Universal Insurance from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Zacks Research downgraded Universal Insurance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Universal Insurance from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Universal Insurance

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Insurance

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UVE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Universal Insurance by 5.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,953,721 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $51,383,000 after buying an additional 108,660 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 843,059 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $22,172,000 after purchasing an additional 85,312 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 805,199 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $19,083,000 after purchasing an additional 69,289 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Universal Insurance by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 681,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $18,909,000 after purchasing an additional 44,168 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Universal Insurance by 212.3% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 596,370 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $15,685,000 after purchasing an additional 405,403 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.61% of the company's stock.

Universal Insurance Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc (NYSE: UVE) is a property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. The company underwrites homeowners and other residential property insurance products to protect against natural catastrophes such as hurricanes, windstorms and fires. It distributes policies primarily through a network of independent agents and brokers, offering coverage for primary residences, secondary homes, condominiums, vacant dwellings and rental properties across its service territory.

In addition to personal lines, Universal provides commercial property and casualty insurance tailored to small businesses and institutional clients.

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