GSA Capital Partners LLP Acquires 48,864 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE - Free Report) by 108.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,851 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 48,864 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP owned about 0.33% of Universal Insurance worth $2,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Universal Insurance by 240.1% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,881 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 40.1% in the 3rd 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 period. Occidental Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Universal Insurance during the 2nd quarter worth about $196,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,374 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,833 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.61% of the company's stock.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of UVE traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.41. 118,982 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 191,577. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.63 and a twelve month high of $23.27. The company has a market cap of $633.98 million, a P/E ratio of 9.11 and a beta of 0.90. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $20.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.90. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The insurance provider reported ($0.73) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by $0.30. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.82% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The firm had revenue of $387.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $341.98 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.16) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Universal Insurance's payout ratio is presently 26.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.21, for a total transaction of $404,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,062,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,468,315.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.21, for a total value of $404,200.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,062,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,468,315.02. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jon Springer sold 35,173 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.53, for a total value of $722,101.69. Following the sale, the director now owns 473,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,729,146.47. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 75,173 shares of company stock valued at $1,575,702 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Universal Insurance from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday.

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.