Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Raises Holdings in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) by 31.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,702,188 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 404,446 shares during the quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned approximately 5.83% of Universal Insurance worth $27,201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UVE. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $140,000. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the 3rd quarter worth $153,000. Laurion Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Universal Insurance in the third quarter valued at about $154,000. Olympiad Research LP acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance in the third quarter worth about $174,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the third quarter worth about $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.53, for a total value of $390,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,191,390 shares in the company, valued at $23,267,846.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 17.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on UVE shares. TheStreet upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Universal Insurance in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UVE traded up $0.05 during trading on Monday, reaching $19.60. 268,619 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 188,278. The firm has a market cap of $567.67 million, a PE ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.15 and a fifty-two week high of $22.38.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $375.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $328.12 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 5.29%. As a group, analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.10%.

Universal Insurance 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.