UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH) Short Interest Up 44.8% in October

UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,040,000 shares, an increase of 44.8% from the September 30th total of 2,100,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 645,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days. Approximately 3.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Approximately 3.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 645,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UMH. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on UMH Properties in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of UMH Properties in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded UMH Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.50.

Insider Activity at UMH Properties

In other news, Director Angela D. Pruitt sold 1,600 shares of UMH Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.06, for a total transaction of $25,696.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $159,074.30. This trade represents a 13.91% 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 75,849 shares of UMH Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.32, for a total transaction of $1,237,855.68. Following the sale, the director owned 41,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $675,125.76. The trade was a 64.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 10,743 shares of company stock valued at $155,097 and have sold 175,249 shares valued at $2,775,528. Company insiders own 8.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UMH Properties

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in UMH Properties in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UMH Properties during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UMH Properties during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UMH Properties during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of UMH Properties during the 2nd quarter valued at $52,000. 75.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UMH Properties Stock Down 0.6%

UMH stock opened at $14.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.18, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 8.56 and a current ratio of 8.56. UMH Properties has a one year low of $13.95 and a one year high of $20.42. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $14.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.10.

UMH Properties (NYSE:UMH) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.25. The firm had revenue of $66.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.70 million. UMH Properties had a net margin of 12.18% and a return on equity of 5.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UMH Properties will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

UMH Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.225 dividend. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. UMH Properties’s payout ratio is presently 642.86%.

UMH Properties Company Profile

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.