UWM (NYSE:UWMC) Rating Lowered to “Strong Sell” at Wall Street Zen

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of UWM in a report on Monday, September 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of UWM from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of UWM from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of UWM from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $4.50 to $6.50 in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.54.

UWM Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE UWMC opened at $5.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The firm has a market cap of $8.15 billion, a PE ratio of -101.90 and a beta of 1.79. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.99. UWM has a 12-month low of $3.80 and a 12-month high of $7.14.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $151.14 million for 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UWM will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UWM news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 596,356 shares of UWM stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.47, for a total transaction of $3,262,067.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,847,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,044,118.36. This trade represents a 13.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,309,316 shares of company stock valued at $113,285,955. Company insiders own 87.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UWM

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Planning raised its stake in UWM by 75.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 238,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 102,908 shares in the last quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. bought a new position in shares of UWM in the 3rd quarter worth $905,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of UWM by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 23,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 4,943 shares in the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UWM during the 3rd quarter valued at $14,433,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of UWM by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 159,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $974,000 after acquiring an additional 40,024 shares during the last quarter. 53.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.