UWM (NYSE:UWMC) Trading 9% Higher – Still a Buy?

UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC)’s stock price rose 9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $5.73 and last traded at $5.7250. Approximately 7,961,619 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 16% from the average daily volume of 6,868,871 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded UWM from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of UWM from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of UWM from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of UWM from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of UWM from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $4.50 to $6.50 in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.54.

UWM Stock Up 9.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $5.68 and its 200-day moving average is $5.02. The stock has a market cap of $9.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -114.46 and a beta of 1.79.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $151.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $651.51 million. UWM had a net margin of 0.48% and a negative return on equity of 5.56%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UWM Holdings Corporation will post 0.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UWM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 18th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.0%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UWM

In related news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 596,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.23, for a total transaction of $3,715,297.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,723,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,196,109.16. The trade was a 13.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 20,690,952 shares of company stock valued at $119,490,334 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 87.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UWM

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of UWMC. AGF Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in UWM in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,072,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of UWM by 42.3% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 25,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 7,687 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of UWM by 769.3% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 13,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 11,870 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in UWM by 94.6% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 29,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 14,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in UWM by 44.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 171,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $730,000 after buying an additional 52,718 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.59% of the company’s stock.

UWM Company Profile

UWM Holdings Corporation engages in the residential mortgage lending business in the United States. The company offers mortgage loans through wholesale channel. It originates primarily conforming and government loans. UWM Holdings Corporation was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Pontiac, Michigan.