Jon Springer Sells 25,000 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Director Jon Springer sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.63, for a total value of $515,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 383,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,905,993.64. The trade was a 6.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

UVE traded up $0.05 on Friday, reaching $20.64. The company had a trading volume of 479,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 185,297. The stock has a market cap of $583.82 million, a P/E ratio of 8.39 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.78 and a fifty-two week high of $23.39. The company’s fifty day moving average is $21.22 and its 200 day moving average is $20.29.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The insurance provider reported ($0.73) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by $0.30. The company had revenue of $387.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $341.98 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.16) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is 26.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 10th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the third quarter valued at about $636,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 90.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 56,502 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,060,000 after purchasing an additional 26,873 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 347,395 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,698,000 after purchasing an additional 63,582 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 135.1% during the second quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 76,069 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,427,000 after purchasing an additional 43,718 shares during the period. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the second quarter valued at approximately $783,000. 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.