Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Posted by George Bondi on Nov 3rd, 2026

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE – Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Universal Insurance from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Universal Insurance has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Universal Insurance

Universal Insurance Price Performance

Universal Insurance stock opened at $49.04 on Friday. Universal Insurance has a one year low of $28.32 and a one year high of $50.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.56. The business has a fifty day moving average of $44.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.89. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 0.69.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.36. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 38.15%. The company had revenue of $444.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $601.67 million. As a group, analysts predict that Universal Insurance will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 29th that permits the company to repurchase $20 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.98, for a total value of $879,600.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 1,084,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,702,687.10. This represents a 1.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 15.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UVE. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Universal Insurance by 83.7% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 599 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Universal Insurance during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 4,847.3% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the first quarter valued at about $95,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 170,750.0% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 3,415 shares in the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Universal Insurance

(Get Free Report)

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc (NYSE: UVE) is an insurance holding company that provides property and casualty insurance through its subsidiaries. Its primary business is personal residential insurance, with products designed to protect homeowners and other residential property owners against risks such as wind, fire, theft and other covered losses.

The company’s offerings include homeowners, condominium unit owners, renters and dwelling fire insurance, along with related residential property coverage.