UWM (NYSE:UWMC) Sets New 52-Week Low on Insider Selling

UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $3.40 and last traded at $3.4250, with a volume of 473574 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.53.

Specifically, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,000,574 shares of UWM stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.55, for a total value of $3,552,037.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,331,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,927,105.45. The trade was a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,000,574 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.72, for a total transaction of $3,722,135.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 6,332,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,555,609.16. This represents a 13.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In other UWM news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,000,574 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.60, for a total transaction of $3,602,066.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 8,333,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,999,883.60. This represents a 10.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UWMC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $6.00 price objective on shares of UWM in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $4.40 target price on UWM in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research downgraded UWM from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of UWM in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded UWM from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UWM presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.49.

UWM Stock Down 0.1%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.75 and a beta of 1.90.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $945.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $759.12 million. Research analysts expect that UWM Holdings Corporation will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

UWM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.3%. UWM’s dividend payout ratio is 666.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UWM by 9.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP lifted its position in UWM by 230.8% during the fourth quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 11,296,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,477,000 after buying an additional 7,881,586 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP purchased a new position in UWM during the fourth quarter valued at $45,867,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted 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 valued at $24,803,000 after buying an additional 3,224,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC bought a new stake in shares of UWM during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,630,000. Institutional investors own 53.59% of the company’s stock.

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.