UWM (NYSE:UWMC) Upgraded at Argus

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Argus to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on UWMC. Jefferies Financial Group set a $4.40 price target on UWM in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of UWM from $6.75 to $6.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of UWM in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of UWM from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of UWM from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Three research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UWM has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.49.

UWM Stock Up 0.7%

UWMC opened at $3.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.75 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.64, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $4.43 and its 200 day moving average is $5.11. UWM has a fifty-two week low of $3.38 and a fifty-two week high of $7.14.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.01). UWM had a negative return on equity of 1.35% and a net margin of 0.87%.The business had revenue of $945.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $759.12 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that UWM will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UWM news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,000,574 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.55, for a total transaction of $3,552,037.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,331,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,927,105.45. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,090,468 shares of company stock worth $101,368,888. Insiders own 87.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UWM

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UWMC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UWM by 9.7% during the 4th 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 increased its holdings 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 valued at $49,477,000 after purchasing an additional 7,881,586 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP purchased a new position in UWM during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,867,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in UWM by 116.6% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC acquired a new position in UWM during the third quarter worth $32,630,000. 53.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.