Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The insurance provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.03, Zacks reports. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 5.60% and a return on equity of 22.04%. The company had revenue of $380.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $340.09 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share.

Universal Insurance Stock Down 4.5 %

Universal Insurance stock traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.10. The stock had a trading volume of 455,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 173,538. The stock has a market capitalization of $550.08 million, a P/E ratio of 7.49 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.44. Universal Insurance has a 1-year low of $11.15 and a 1-year high of $22.38.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.31, for a total value of $366,200.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,142,262 shares in the company, valued at $20,914,817.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.31, for a total transaction of $366,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,142,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,914,817.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael Pietrangelo sold 12,351 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total value of $252,330.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 80,074 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,635,911.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,351 shares of company stock valued at $1,012,931 in the last quarter. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Universal Insurance from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Universal Insurance in a research report on Monday, April 1st.

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.