Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.16 EPS

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The insurance provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.16, Zacks reports. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%.

Universal Insurance Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of UVE traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $20.55. The company had a trading volume of 222,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 126,420. Universal Insurance has a 52-week low of $16.50 and a 52-week high of $23.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.67. The firm has a market cap of $581.14 million, a P/E ratio of 8.35 and a beta of 0.91.

Universal Insurance Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. This is a positive change from Universal Insurance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.02%.

Insider Activity at Universal Insurance

In related news, Director Jon Springer sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 383,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,905,993.64. This represents a 6.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total transaction of $1,025,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 985,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,208,913.20. This trade represents a 4.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.