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

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of 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. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 146,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Universal Insurance news, Director Jon Springer sold 25,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,905,993.64. The trade was a 6.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total transaction of $441,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 990,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,863,616. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $2,424,450. 17.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Universal Insurance

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UVE. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $928,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the fourth quarter worth approximately $594,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the fourth quarter worth $118,000. Man Group plc raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 17,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 69,205 shares during the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Universal Insurance Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:UVE traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $22.10. 59,653 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 166,779. The firm has a market cap of $620.92 million, a P/E ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 0.84. Universal Insurance has a 52-week low of $16.50 and a 52-week high of $23.39. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.79. 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 (NYSE:UVE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $384.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $349.91 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.82% and a return on equity of 15.43%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Universal Insurance Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Universal Insurance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.