Stephens Begins Coverage on UWM (NYSE:UWMC)

Investment analysts at Stephens initiated coverage on shares of UWM (NYSE:UWMC) in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating and a $4.00 price target on the stock. Stephens’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 5.68% from the company’s previous close.

UWMC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $5.00 price objective on shares of UWM in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $4.40 price objective on shares of UWM in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of UWM from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Argus upgraded shares of UWM to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of UWM in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.99.

UWM Price Performance

UWMC opened at $3.79 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. UWM has a 12 month low of $3.38 and a 12 month high of $7.14. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.82. The stock has a market cap of $6.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.08 and a beta of 1.93.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.01). UWM had a net margin of 0.87% and a negative return on equity of 1.35%. The firm had revenue of $945.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $759.12 million. On average, research analysts expect that UWM will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other UWM news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,000,574 shares of UWM stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.70, for a total value of $3,702,123.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 8,320,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,786,490.10. This trade represents a 10.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,400,916 shares of company stock valued at $112,469,538. Company insiders own 87.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UWM

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of UWM by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 55,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,329 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in shares of UWM by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 51,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 2,407 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of UWM by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,602 shares during the period. Choreo LLC raised its stake in shares of UWM by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 19,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 2,637 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its stake in shares of UWM by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 14,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 2,902 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.