Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 174,232 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,919 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Universal Insurance were worth $3,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in UVE. Quarry LP boosted 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 buying an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 240.1% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,881 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 723 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $202,000. Finally, Occidental Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $196,000. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of UVE stock opened at $22.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $647.28 million, a P/E ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $20.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.04. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $15.63 and a one year high of $23.27.

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

Universal Insurance Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.21, for a total transaction of $404,200.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,062,262 shares in the company, valued at $21,468,315.02. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 55,064 shares of company stock worth $1,191,937 over the last three months. Company insiders own 17.50% 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.