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

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

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

NYSE:UVE traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $22.10. The stock had a trading volume of 59,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 166,779. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $620.92 million, a price-to-earnings 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.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.16. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%. The company had revenue of $384.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $349.91 million. On average, research analysts expect that Universal Insurance will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Insurance

In related news, Director Jon Springer sold 25,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 383,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,905,993.64. This represents a 6.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the chairman now owns 990,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,863,616. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $2,424,450 over the last quarter. 17.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UVE. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 55.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 776 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance in the fourth quarter worth approximately $103,000. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in Universal Insurance by 45,981.8% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,069 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 5,058 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter valued at $118,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter worth $121,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut 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.