Short Interest in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Declines By 23.5%

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 313,000 shares, a drop of 23.5% from the October 31st total of 409,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 205,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Insurance

In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.21, for a total value of $404,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,062,262 shares in the company, valued at $21,468,315.02. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 55,064 shares of company stock valued at $1,191,937. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UVE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Universal Insurance by 2.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,544,506 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,384,000 after acquiring an additional 41,425 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new position in Universal Insurance during the 1st quarter valued at about $758,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,374 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,833 shares in the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Universal Insurance in the second quarter worth $196,000. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Universal Insurance by 135.1% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

NYSE:UVE traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $22.63. The stock had a trading volume of 69,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 133,123. Universal Insurance has a 12-month low of $15.63 and a 12-month high of $23.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.12. The stock has a market cap of $640.20 million, a P/E ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 0.90. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The insurance provider reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.03) by $0.30. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.82% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The business had revenue of $387.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $341.98 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.16) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Universal Insurance will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is 26.02%.

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.