Baird Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Universal Technical Institute Inc $UTI

Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Universal Technical Institute Inc (NYSE:UTI) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 140,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,770,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.26% of Universal Technical Institute at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Universal Technical Institute by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,052,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,392,000 after purchasing an additional 306,984 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 58.3% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 2,924,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,077,076 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Universal Technical Institute in the second quarter valued at about $63,265,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 15.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,554,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,672,000 after acquiring an additional 210,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Next Century Growth Investors LLC increased its position in Universal Technical Institute by 5.8% during the first quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 1,049,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,957,000 after acquiring an additional 57,990 shares during the period. 75.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Universal Technical Institute Price Performance

Shares of UTI stock opened at $24.43 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.08. The company has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Universal Technical Institute Inc has a twelve month low of $21.29 and a twelve month high of $36.32.

Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $222.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $219.33 million. Universal Technical Institute had a net margin of 7.54% and a return on equity of 25.65%. Universal Technical Institute has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.710-0.800 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Universal Technical Institute Inc will post 1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Universal Technical Institute

In other news, Director Coliseum Capital Management, L acquired 467,020 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $24.40 per share, with a total value of $11,395,288.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,424,374 shares in the company, valued at $83,554,725.60. The trade was a 15.79% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders acquired 1,255,173 shares of company stock valued at $30,812,798. 15.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on UTI shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Universal Technical Institute in a report on Monday, December 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Universal Technical Institute in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Universal Technical Institute in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Universal Technical Institute from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. Finally, Zacks Research cut Universal Technical Institute from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Technical Institute has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.83.

About Universal Technical Institute

Universal Technical Institute, Inc provides transportation, skilled trades, and healthcare education programs in the United States. The company operates in two segments, UTI and Concorde. It offers certificate, diploma, or degree programs under various brands, such as Universal Technical Institute, Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, Marine Mechanics Institute, NASCAR Technical Institute, and MIAT College of Technology.