Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Pessimistic Forecast for UWM (NYSE:UWMC) Stock Price

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) had its price target reduced by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $6.00 to $5.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target points to a potential upside of 35.69% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on UWMC. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of UWM in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Compass Point began coverage on shares of UWM in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $8.50 target price for the company. Argus upgraded shares of UWM to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of UWM from $6.00 to $5.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $5.00 price target on shares of UWM in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.24.

UWM Stock Down 6.0%

UWMC opened at $3.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $4.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.98. UWM has a twelve month low of $3.38 and a twelve month high of $7.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.42 and a beta of 1.93.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.01). UWM had a net margin of 0.87% and a negative return on equity of 1.35%. The company had revenue of $945.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $759.12 million. Equities research analysts forecast that UWM will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at UWM

In other news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,000,574 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.87, for a total value of $3,872,221.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 7,326,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,353,218.31. This represents a 12.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 24,561,842 shares of company stock worth $107,798,721 over the last quarter. 87.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UWM

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UWMC. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of UWM by 5,681.9% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 4,091 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of UWM by 408.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 4,344 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UWM in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in UWM by 1,410.7% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 8,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 8,027 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in UWM in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.59% of the company’s stock.

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.