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Transcript Summary

Universal Insurance Holdings delivered a strong first quarter for 2026, characterized by an annualized adjusted ROE of 38.5% and adjusted EPS of $2.00, up from $1.44 year-over-year. Direct premiums written rose by 8.5% to $506.5 million, fueled by an 18.3% jump in non-Florida markets and a steady 4.9% increase within Florida. The company's net combined ratio improved to 89.7%, benefiting from a lower net loss ratio of 63.9%, despite a slight increase in the expense ratio due to expansion costs. Management successfully secured the 2026-2027 reinsurance renewal ahead of schedule, including $352 million in multiyear coverage extending through 2028. Retentions remain stable at $45 million. CEO Steve Donaghy highlighted that the company prioritizes rate adequacy over market share, leveraging a strong agent network and favorable legislative changes in Florida. Capital management remains active, with $7.1 million in share repurchases during the quarter and a $0.16 per share dividend declared. The company maintains a cautious yet optimistic outlook, focusing on supporting its insurance entities while returning excess capital to shareholders. Analysts queried the competitive environment and future pricing, with management indicating a data-driven approach to future rate filings and maintaining a disciplined underwriting posture.

5-year share-count history (top 10 holders by peak, incl. exited) + price

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Universal Insurance Holdings: Administrative Shell Lacks Substantive Forensic Detail

Full Earnings Call Transcript — Q1 • 2026-04-24

Operator: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Universal's First Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. I'll now turn the conference over to Arash Soleimani, Chief Strategy Officer.
Arash Soleimani: Good morning. Thank you for joining us today. Welcome to our quarterly earnings call. On the call with me today are Steve Donaghy, Chief Executive Officer; and Frank Wilcox, Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, please note today's discussion may contain forward-looking statements and non-GAAP financial measures. Forward-looking statements involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those statements. For more information, please see the press release and Universal's SEC filings, all of which are available on the Investors section of our website at universalinsuranceholdings.com and on the SEC's website. A reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to comparable GAAP measures is included in the quarterly press release and can also be found on Universal's website at universalinsuranceholdings.com. With that, I'll turn the call over to Steve.
Stephen Donaghy: Thanks, Arash. Good morning, everyone. We had a fantastic start to the year with a 38.5% annualized adjusted return on common equity. Our top line results were strong with growth across our multistate footprint, including in Florida. On a separate note, I'm pleased to announce the completion of our 2026-2027 reinsurance renewal for our insurance entities as our program is now fully supported and secured. During the renewal process in 2026, we also secured $352 million of additional multiyear coverage, taking us through the 2027-2028 treaty period. I'll turn it over to Frank to walk through our financial results. Frank?
Frank Wilcox: Thank you, Steve, and good morning. Adjusted diluted earnings per common share was $2 compared to an adjusted diluted earnings per common share of $1.44 in the prior year quarter. The higher adjusted diluted earnings per common share mostly stems from a lower net loss ratio and higher net investment income. Core revenue of $398.2 million was up 0.8% year-over-year with growth primarily stemming from higher net investment income and net premiums earned. Direct premiums written were $506.5 million, up 8.5% from the prior year quarter. The increase stems from 4.9% growth in Florida and 18.3% growth in other states. Overall growth mostly reflects higher policies in force and inflation adjustments across our multistate footprint. Direct premiums earned were $531.4 million, up 3.5% from the prior year quarter, reflecting direct premiums written growth over the last 12 months. Net premiums earned were $356.9 million, up 0.3% from the prior year quarter. The increase is primarily attributable to higher direct premiums earned, partially offset by a higher ceded premium ratio. The net combined ratio was 89.7%, down 5.3 points compared to the prior year quarter. The decrease reflects a lower net loss ratio, partially offset by a higher net expense ratio. The 63.9% net loss ratio was down 6.6 points compared to the prior year quarter, with the decrease reflecting better current accident year results. The net expense ratio was 25.8%, up 1.3 points compared to the prior year quarter, with the increase primarily driven by a higher ceded premium ratio and higher policy acquisition costs associated with growth outside of Florida. During the first quarter, the company repurchased approximately 210,000 shares at an aggregate cost of $7.1 million. The company's current share repurchase authorization program has approximately $13.1 million remaining. On April 10, 2026, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.16 per share of common stock payable on May 15, 2026, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 8, 2026. With that, I'd like to ask the operator to open up the line for questions.
Operator: [Operator Instructions] And our first question comes from the line of Paul Newsome of Piper Sandler.
Jon Paul Newsome: Congratulations on the quarter. Maybe we could just start off with some thoughts or color on the competitive environment, both in Florida and outside of Florida. It gets lots of investor questions about whether or not we're seeing a change in the number of folks who are competing in those markets and maybe the speed at which obviously, the ROEs that you and others are reporting are so huge, whether or not that will attract a lot of new competitors.
Stephen Donaghy: Paul, thank you. I think from a competitive perspective, we analyze our rates and are chasing rate adequacy more than we are chasing business. So from a competitive perspective, we feel good about where we stand. And obviously, from the quarter, we can bring on business when we want to and we see the markets profitably. So that's probably the answer I would give you. There is competition everywhere, but we feel good about our position and our relationship with our agents has never been stronger. So, yes.
Jon Paul Newsome: Should we expect further price adjustments and rate adjustments for you folks in the future?
Stephen Donaghy: We haven't kicked off our rate analysis at this point. So as we get ready to do that, we will analyze the past 12 months and see how that impacts. And I think as we continue to benefit from the legislative environment and our business, we will do the right thing by our shareholders and our partners. So we'll take that all into account and continue to do the right thing.
Jon Paul Newsome: Maybe some thoughts on capital management. Obviously, given where the returns are accumulating some excess capital. How do you balance the various uses of that capital today? And should we expect further purchases as a focus or not? Or just maybe you could just kind of prioritize how you think about that.
Frank Wilcox: Paul, this is Frank. I think we're going to stay the course. Our #1 priority with capital has always been to support the insurance entities, ensuring that they are adequately capitalized so that we can continue to produce the business that benefits the entire holding company system. That, combined with continuing to return shareholder value.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Nicolas Iacoviello of Dowling & Partners.
Nicolas Iacoviello: Congrats on the quarter. Could we just start -- I was wondering if there's any additional details or commentary you could provide around the outcome of your reinsurance renewal?
Stephen Donaghy: Nick, thanks. I appreciate the comments. I think from the reinsurance perspective, we are very excited to be done and have it fully secured for 2026, '27. We were quite happy that we also extended our multiyear agreements. From a pricing perspective, we're going to sit on that until we get to May and release all the details as normal. We think it'd be premature for us to kind of make public comments relative to how we did, but we were very pleased with the market and very pleased with our partners for many, many years and how they treated us relative to this year.
Nicolas Iacoviello: Got it. I know we'll see more details in May. But I mean, is there anything you could comment on how we should think about the retention? Is it fair to assume it would be similar on a GAAP basis versus prior year, and it would include some captive usage. I get, obviously, you'll have the opportunity to maybe buy down. But as it stands today, is that a fair assumption?
Frank Wilcox: Yes. The retentions will remain the same for the insurance entities, $45 million. We plan to continue to use the captive in the same manner for the $66 million layer above $45 million for the first event. So structurally identical to last year.
Operator: I'm showing no further questions at this time. I'll now turn it back to Steve Donaghy, Chief Executive Officer, for closing remarks.
Stephen Donaghy: Thank you. I'd like to thank all of our associates, consumers, agents and our stakeholders for their continued support of Universal. Have a nice day.
Operator: Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.