Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com – MarketBeat

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE – Get Rating) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 15th. TheStreet lowered shares of Universal Insurance from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Friday, February 11th.

UVE opened at $12.29 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $383.96 million, a PE ratio of 7.63 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50-day moving average is $16.02. Universal Insurance has a 52-week low of $11.55 and a 52-week high of $19.64.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 24th. The insurance provider reported ($1.53) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of ($1.61) by $0.08. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 8.63%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.84) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Universal Insurance will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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In other Universal Insurance news, CFO Frank Wilcox bought 2,750 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $11.94 per share, with a total value of $32,835.00. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen Donaghy bought 10,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $11.90 per share, with a total value of $119,000.00. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 17.00% of the company’s stock.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UVE. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY increased its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 42,000.0% in the 2nd quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 3,368 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 3,360 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the 3rd quarter valued at about $125,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 110.0% in the 2nd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 10,579 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 5,542 shares during the last quarter. 64.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Universal Insurance (Get Rating)

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc operates as a holding company offering property and casualty insurance and value-added insurance services. It develops, markets and underwrites insurance products for consumers in the personal residential homeowners lines of business and perform substantially all other insurance-related services for primary insurance entities, including risk management, claims management, and distribution.

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