UWM (NYSE:UWMC) Upgraded at Stephens

Stephens upgraded shares of UWM (NYSE:UWMC) to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of UWM from $6.00 to $5.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of UWM from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $4.40 price objective on shares of UWM in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Argus raised shares of UWM to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of UWM in a 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.99.

UWM Stock Up 3.1%

UWMC opened at $3.79 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $3.94 and a 200 day moving average of $4.82. The company has a market cap of $6.06 billion, a PE ratio of 63.08 and a beta of 1.93. UWM has a 12 month low of $3.38 and a 12 month high of $7.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.64.

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

UWM Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 19th. UWM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 666.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UWM news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,000,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.70, for a total value of $3,702,123.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,335,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,939,585.10. This trade represents a 8.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,400,916 shares of company stock valued at $112,469,538. 87.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in UWM by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,959,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,042,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676,754 shares during the period. Azora Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of UWM by 230.8% during the 4th quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 11,296,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,477,000 after acquiring an additional 7,881,586 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of UWM during the 4th quarter worth $45,867,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of UWM by 116.6% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,991,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,803,000 after acquiring an additional 3,224,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC bought a new stake in shares of UWM during the 3rd quarter worth $32,630,000. 53.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UWM Company Profile

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.