Showing posts with label insurance stocks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label insurance stocks. Show all posts

Monday, November 16, 2009

Upping My Investment in UVE

Over the weekend I reviewed my portfolio and decided to up my stake in Universal Insurance Holdings (UVE-AMEX). The Group's principal activity is to provide property and casualty insurance. It performs various aspects of insurance underwriting, distribution and claims. It markets and distributes its products and services, primarily in Florida.

I've written about UVE before and have been a long time shareholder for quite some time. Not long ago I had sold some of my shares for the capital gains, but now that I've reviewed the stock, I've decided to buy more. I've always liked their dividend payout and currently it is running at 12.94% on the recent share price of $6.19. Not too many places right now you can get a 12% plus rate of return.

Another factor in my decision was an article I read recently which argued that one of the most important metrics for stock picking, is insider ownership. I thought the author made a very good argument for investing in stocks with high insider ownership. That being said, UVE, which has been a great investment for me so far, has inside ownership of over 50% on top of their high dividend payouts. They have also expanded operations outside the state of Florida, which could indicate prospects for future capital gains.

Bottom line, if the insiders are willing to tie up so much of their money in the company, then I'm thinking it probably wouldn't hurt for me to keep some money working with them.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

AFLAC and Evaluating Dividend Sustainability

If you've read some of my previous posts, you'll know I like investing in insurance companies. Currently I am invested in AFLAC (AFL) in my IRA account and my regular stock portfolio. Although my own research had convinced me of the value of owning shares of AFLAC, it's always nice to get a second opinion.

Dividends Value.com has a great analysis of AFLAC stock, which you can read at:


http://dividendsvalue.com/3205/aflac-inc-afl-dividend-stock-analysis/


I just recently discovered this site. What a great resource for building a solid dividend portfolio of stocks! Looking forward to reading more. Also found a great table of factors to consider, when evaluating a stocks dividend sustainability, at Disciplined Approach to Investing:

http://disciplinedinvesting.blogspot.com/2009/06/evaluating-dividend-sustainability.html


One of the very first things I do, before investing in a stock, is check the sustainability of dividend payouts. It doesn't do any good to invest, only to have the dividend cut or eliminated all together.