Short Interest in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Decreases By 16.3%

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) saw a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 316,700 shares, a decrease of 16.3% from the February 13th total of 378,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 146,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Insurance

In other news, Director Jon Springer sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.63, for a total transaction of $515,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 383,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,905,993.64. This represents a 6.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total transaction of $441,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 990,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,863,616. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $2,424,450. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UVE. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $928,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $594,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Universal Insurance during the fourth quarter worth $118,000. Man Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 71,313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 17,020 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Universal Insurance by 120.6% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 126,602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,666,000 after purchasing an additional 69,205 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Universal Insurance Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of UVE stock traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $21.44. 309,171 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 167,845. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.32 and a 200 day moving average of $20.80. The firm has a market cap of $602.38 million, a PE ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.84. Universal Insurance has a 1 year low of $16.50 and a 1 year high of $23.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $384.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $349.91 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.82% and a return on equity of 15.43%. Analysts expect that Universal Insurance will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Universal Insurance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.16%.

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.