Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 29,892 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) by 52.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,610 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 29,892 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Universal Insurance were worth $590,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Universal Insurance by 424.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,395 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 240.1% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,881 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in Universal Insurance by 40.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Universal Insurance during the third quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Occidental Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Universal Insurance during the second quarter worth $196,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

UVE stock opened at $22.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $635.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.14 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.95. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.63 and a 1 year high of $23.27.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The insurance provider reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.03) by $0.30. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%. The business had revenue of $387.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $341.98 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.16) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 15,064 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.46, for a total value of $338,337.44. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,047,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,520,067.08. The trade was a 1.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 55,064 shares of company stock valued at $1,191,937 in the last ninety days. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Universal Insurance Company 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.