Stock Traders Buy High Volume of UWM Call Options (NYSE:UWMC)

UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 26,964 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 317% compared to the average volume of 6,460 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,003,333 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UWM

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of UWM by 5,681.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 4,091 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of UWM during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in UWM in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in UWM by 1,410.7% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 8,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 8,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in UWM during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 53.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UWM Stock Down 34.0%

Shares of NYSE:UWMC traded down $0.62 during trading on Thursday, reaching $1.22. 53,902,383 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,338,480. UWM has a 1-year low of $0.93 and a 1-year high of $7.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $2.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.78.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $888.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $727.46 million. UWM had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 1.92%. Research analysts anticipate that UWM will post 0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UWMC has been the subject of several recent research reports. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 price target on shares of UWM in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Stephens began coverage on shares of UWM in a report on Friday, April 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $4.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered UWM from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $5.50 target price on shares of UWM in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of UWM from $5.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Six investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.65.

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.