UMH Properties (NYSE:UMH) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of UMH Properties (NYSE:UMH) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

Several other research firms also recently commented on UMH. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of UMH Properties in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Maxim Group decreased their price objective on UMH Properties from $22.00 to $20.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.00.

UMH Properties Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of UMH stock opened at $16.53 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 8.48, a current ratio of 8.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $17.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.23. UMH Properties has a 12-month low of $14.73 and a 12-month high of $20.64. The firm has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 127.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.14.

UMH Properties (NYSE:UMH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.23. The firm had revenue of $61.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.82 million. UMH Properties had a return on equity of 6.06% and a net margin of 11.81%. Equities analysts anticipate that UMH Properties will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UMH Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.225 per share. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This is an increase from UMH Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. UMH Properties’s payout ratio is currently 750.00%.

Insider Activity at UMH Properties

In other UMH Properties news, CEO Samuel A. Landy sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.11, for a total transaction of $427,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,165,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,937,684.15. This represents a 2.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William Edward Mitchell sold 70,852 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.20, for a total value of $1,218,654.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 215,427 shares in the company, valued at $3,705,344.40. This trade represents a 24.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 135,826 shares of company stock worth $2,323,564 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of UMH Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of UMH Properties by 1,011.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,456 shares during the period. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in shares of UMH Properties during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of UMH Properties in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of UMH Properties in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.40% of the company’s stock.

About UMH Properties

UMH Properties, Inc, which was organized in 1968, is a public equity REIT that owns and operates 135 manufactured home communities containing approximately 25,800 developed homesites. These communities are located in New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia.