FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.—Sean P. Downes, Executive Chairman of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE), recently sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock. The transactions, executed on December 30, 2024, were executed at a weighted average price of $20.5119 per share, totaling approximately $1.03 million. The insurer, with a market cap of $598 million, currently trades at $21.06 and offers a 3.75% dividend yield, having maintained dividend payments for 19 consecutive years.
Following this sale, Downes retains direct ownership of 985,320 shares. Additionally, he owns 2,000 shares indirectly through his spouse and 18,000 shares through his children.
These transactions are detailed in a Form 4 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In other recent news, Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:). reported a significant adjusted loss per common share of $0.73 in its third quarter financial results, a decrease from the prior year. Despite the impact of recent hurricanes, the company remains hopeful about its non-catastrophe insurance trends and expanding into new markets, including Wisconsin. Direct premiums written showed an increase of 8%, with significant growth outside of Florida. However, the net combined ratio deteriorated to 116.9%, primarily due to higher net loss and expense ratios.
The company also repurchased 226,000 shares for $4.4 million and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share. Despite an increased net loss ratio due to higher weather-related losses, primarily from Hurricane Helena, underlying revenue increased 5.4% year-over-year. This increase was driven by higher net earned premiums and commission income.
Furthermore, with its latest opening in Wisconsin, Universal Insurance announced its presence in 19 states. The company expects this expansion to diversify its books of business. These are recent developments for Universal Insurance Holdings Inc., which remains cautiously optimistic about the future, seeing improvements in its underwriting results.
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