UWM (NYSE:UWMC) Reaches New 1-Year Low After Earnings Miss

UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC) shares reached a new 52-week low on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $1.27 and last traded at $1.1180, with a volume of 3172433 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $1.84.

The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30). UWM had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 1.92%.The firm had revenue of $888.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $727.46 million.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on UWMC. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of UWM from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $3.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of UWM from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 target price on shares of UWM in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $5.50 price target on shares of UWM in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of UWM to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Six research 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.65.

Insider Transactions at UWM

In other UWM news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,003,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.39, for a total value of $3,401,298.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UWM

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brandes Investment Partners LP bought a new position in shares of UWM in the fourth quarter worth $45,867,000. Azora Capital LP increased its position in shares of UWM by 230.8% in the fourth quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 11,296,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,477,000 after purchasing an additional 7,881,586 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in UWM in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,580,000. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in UWM during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,303,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in UWM by 127.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,969,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,231,000 after buying an additional 3,905,286 shares in the last quarter. 53.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UWM Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $2.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. The stock has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.78.

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.