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

UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $3.62 and last traded at $3.6350, with a volume of 17969949 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.66.

Specifically, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,000,574 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.70, for a total transaction of $3,702,123.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,335,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,939,585.10. This represents a 8.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 632,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.69, for a total value of $2,335,305.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,336,171 shares in the company, valued at $8,620,470.99. This represents a 21.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In other UWM news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 632,874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.91, for a total transaction of $2,474,537.34. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,969,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,608,965.95. This represents a 17.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on UWM from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $6.00 price objective on shares of UWM in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of UWM from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of UWM in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of UWM from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.49.

UWM Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a PE ratio of 61.42 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.31.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) last released its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $759.12 million. UWM had a net margin of 0.87% and a negative return on equity of 1.35%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that UWM Holdings Corporation will post 0.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UWM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. UWM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 666.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.