UWM (NYSE:UWMC) Shares Up 7.2% – Should You Buy?

UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC)’s stock price rose 7.2% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $1.85 and last traded at $1.8650. 3,956,807 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 19,175,100 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on UWMC. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of UWM from $5.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $5.50 target price on shares of UWM in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Argus raised UWM to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 price target on shares of UWM in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on UWM in a research report on Friday, April 24th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $4.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.81.

UWM Trading Up 5.5%

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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.80 and a beta of 1.76.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.03. UWM had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 1.92%.The firm had revenue of $901.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.85 million. Research analysts anticipate that UWM Holdings Corporation will post 0.34 EPS for the current year.

UWM Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 18th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 21.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 18th. UWM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 148.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,003,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.39, for a total transaction of $3,401,298.87. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 7,932,876 shares of company stock worth $28,471,634 over the last quarter. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UWM

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UWMC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in UWM by 9.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP boosted its position 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 worth $49,477,000 after buying an additional 7,881,586 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of UWM in the 4th quarter worth about $45,867,000. 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 valued at $25,231,000 after acquiring an additional 3,905,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 3,224,806 shares in the last quarter. 53.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.