Trexquant Investment LP Buys 3,221 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Trexquant Investment LP raised its stake in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 76,132 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,221 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.27% of Universal Insurance worth $1,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Universal Insurance by 55.6% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Universal Insurance during the fourth quarter valued at about $103,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in Universal Insurance by 45,981.8% during the fourth 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 during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Universal Insurance during the third quarter valued at about $206,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Universal Insurance during the third quarter valued at about $241,000. Institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

Shares of Universal Insurance stock opened at $22.41 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.94. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.50 and a 52 week high of $24.14. The company has a market capitalization of $629.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.16. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%. The business had revenue of $384.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.91 million. As a group, analysts expect that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.16 dividend. This is an increase from Universal Insurance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is currently 32.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total value of $441,600.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 990,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,863,616. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 17.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.