Traders Purchase Large Volume of UWM Call Options (NYSE:UWMC)

UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 9,798 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 82% compared to the typical volume of 5,393 call options.

UWM Trading Down 14.0%

NYSE:UWMC opened at $4.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45. UWM has a 12-month low of $3.80 and a 12-month high of $7.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $5.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.39.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $651.51 million. UWM had a net margin of 0.61% and a negative return on equity of 6.81%. Equities research analysts predict that UWM will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

UWM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 18th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.2%.

Insider Activity at UWM

In other news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 632,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.57, for a total value of $2,892,234.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,245,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,262,478.83. This trade represents a 21.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 19,787,071 shares of company stock worth $105,009,906 in the last three months. 87.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UWM

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UWMC. Carrera Capital Advisors lifted its holdings in UWM by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 325,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 43,879 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new stake in shares of UWM during the fourth quarter worth approximately $557,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in UWM by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 31,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 10,287 shares in the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC bought a new position in UWM in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its stake in UWM by 93.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,347,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,661,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,003 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on UWMC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of UWM from $6.50 to $6.75 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of UWM in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on UWM in a research report on Friday, December 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $5.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on UWM from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $5.00 price objective on UWM in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.53.

About UWM

United Wholesale Mortgage (NYSE: UWMC) is a leading mortgage lender in the United States specializing in the wholesale channel. The company partners with independent mortgage brokers, community banks and credit unions to offer a full suite of residential mortgage products. Through its network of third-party originators, United Wholesale Mortgage underwrites, funds and closes loans, allowing its partners to focus on customer acquisition and service.

The company’s product offerings include conventional fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgages, Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, Veterans Affairs (VA) loans, U.S.