UWM (NYSE:UWMC) Trading Down 3.8% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC) fell 3.8% during mid-day trading on Monday after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating. Morgan Stanley now has a $6.50 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $4.50. UWM traded as low as $5.89 and last traded at $6.01. 2,340,265 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 6,168,477 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.24.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on UWMC. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of UWM in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered UWM from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $6.50 to $4.50 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of UWM from $6.00 to $5.25 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays raised shares of UWM from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $6.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised UWM from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UWM currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at UWM

In related news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 596,356 shares of UWM stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.84, for a total transaction of $4,079,075.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 6,705,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,862,692.48. The trade was a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 16,175,592 shares of company stock valued at $86,495,194 over the last quarter. 94.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of UWM

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UWM by 101.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 2,958 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UWM in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in UWM by 135.4% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 4,693 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in UWM during the second quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in UWM in the first quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 53.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UWM Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.88. The company has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -124.50 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.10. UWM had a net margin of 0.48% and a negative return on equity of 5.56%. The company had revenue of $758.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $621.60 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that UWM Holdings Corporation will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

UWM Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 18th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 18th. UWM’s payout ratio is presently -800.00%.

About UWM

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.