UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $6.5313.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UWMC shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on UWM in a research note on Friday, December 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $5.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group increased their price target on UWM from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $6.00 price objective on UWM in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of UWM from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of UWM from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 632,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.46, for a total value of $3,455,492.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,251,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,831,175.26. This trade represents a 33.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 19,008,125 shares of company stock valued at $100,132,621 in the last ninety days. 94.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UWM

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UWMC. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of UWM in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,337,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in UWM during the second quarter valued at approximately $792,000. AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new position in UWM during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,072,000. 683 Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in UWM in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $19,872,000. Finally, Capital Fund Management S.A. lifted its position in UWM by 260.9% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 573,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,375,000 after buying an additional 414,667 shares in the last quarter. 53.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UWM Trading Down 5.5%

Shares of UWMC opened at $5.77 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $5.19 and its 200-day moving average is $5.32. UWM has a 12-month low of $3.80 and a 12-month high of $7.14.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $151.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $651.51 million. UWM had a negative return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 0.61%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UWM will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

UWM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 18th.

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.