UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH) Short Interest Update

UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,060,000 shares, a decrease of 16.5% from the March 31st total of 1,270,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 353,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on UMH. Compass Point boosted their target price on UMH Properties from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com upgraded UMH Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. B. Riley began coverage on UMH Properties in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $18.50 target price on the stock. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of UMH Properties in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Brett Taft sold 9,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.91, for a total transaction of $155,918.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 97,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,544,049.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 8.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of UMH Properties

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UMH. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of UMH Properties by 609.8% in the third quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,036,353 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,530,000 after acquiring an additional 890,355 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in UMH Properties by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,541,226 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $100,212,000 after buying an additional 629,427 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in UMH Properties by 29.5% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,532,194 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,501,000 after buying an additional 576,304 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in UMH Properties during the fourth quarter worth about $2,930,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in UMH Properties by 24.1% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 825,371 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,404,000 after buying an additional 160,503 shares during the period. 75.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UMH Properties Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:UMH opened at $15.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 6.52, a current ratio of 6.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. UMH Properties has a 52-week low of $13.26 and a 52-week high of $16.85. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.03. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -104.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.24.

UMH Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.215 dividend. This is an increase from UMH Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. UMH Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently -546.63%.

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.