Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on UWM (NYSE:UWMC)

UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 54,116 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 687% compared to the typical volume of 6,879 call options.

Insider Transactions at UWM

In other UWM news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 632,874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.42, for a total value of $2,797,303.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 979,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,331,029.82. This represents a 39.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 20,152,251 shares of company stock valued at $103,851,825 over the last three months. Insiders own 94.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brandes Investment Partners LP acquired a new stake in UWM during the fourth quarter worth about $45,867,000. Azora Capital LP grew its stake in shares of UWM by 230.8% in the 4th 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. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UWM during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,630,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UWM during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $21,580,000. Finally, 683 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UWM during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $19,872,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on UWMC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $5.00 price objective on UWM in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of UWM from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of UWM in a research report on Friday, December 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $5.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $6.00 price target on shares of UWM in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of UWM from $6.50 to $6.75 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.53.

UWM Price Performance

UWMC stock traded down $0.67 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $3.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 33,468,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,650,498. The company’s 50 day moving average is $5.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.47. UWM has a fifty-two week low of $3.79 and a fifty-two week high of $7.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.08. UWM had a negative return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 0.61%.The firm had revenue of $945.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $759.12 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that UWM will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

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.