Universal Insurance Holdings (NYSE:UVE) Will Pay A Dividend Of $0.16

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) will pay a dividend of $0.16 on the 16th of March. This makes the dividend yield 6.3%, which will augment investor returns quite nicely.

Check out our latest analysis for Universal Insurance Holdings

Universal Insurance Holdings Doesn't Earn Enough To Cover Its Payments

A big dividend yield for a few years doesn't mean much if it can't be sustained. While Universal Insurance Holdings is not profitable, it is paying out less than 75% of its free cash flow, which means that there is plenty left over for reinvestment into the business. In general, cash flows are more important than the more traditional measures of profit so we feel pretty comfortable with the dividend at this level.

Earnings per share is forecast to rise by 108.5% over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could get very high, which probably can't continue without starting to put some pressure on the balance sheet.

Dividend Volatility

The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. Since 2013, the dividend has gone from $0.34 total annually to $0.77. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 8.5% over that duration. We have seen cuts in the past, so while the growth looks promising we would be a little bit cautious about its track record.

Dividend Growth Potential Is Shaky

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share is growing, which could point to a growing dividend in the future. Over the past five years, it looks as though Universal Insurance Holdings' EPS has declined at around 49% a year. A sharp decline in earnings per share is not great from from a dividend perspective. Even conservative payout ratios can come under pressure if earnings fall far enough. Over the next year, however, earnings are actually predicted to rise, but we would still be cautious until a track record of earnings growth can be built.

Universal Insurance Holdings' Dividend Doesn't Look Sustainable

In summary, while it's good to see that the dividend hasn't been cut, we are a bit cautious about Universal Insurance Holdings' payments, as there could be some issues with sustaining them into the future. The payments haven't been particularly stable and we don't see huge growth potential, but with the dividend well covered by cash flows it could prove to be reliable over the short term. We don't think Universal Insurance Holdings is a great stock to add to your portfolio if income is your focus.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. For instance, we've picked out 2 warning signs for Universal Insurance Holdings that investors should take into consideration. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.