Short Interest in Universal Technical Institute Inc (NYSE:UTI) Rises By 63.3%

Universal Technical Institute Inc (NYSE:UTI) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 5,377,844 shares, a growth of 63.3% from the May 14th total of 3,293,481 shares. Approximately 10.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,104,350 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UTI. Weiss Ratings downgraded Universal Technical Institute from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Barrington Research raised their price target on Universal Technical Institute from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Universal Technical Institute from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Universal Technical Institute from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $41.00 price target on Universal Technical Institute in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Universal Technical Institute currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.25.

Universal Technical Institute Stock Performance

UTI stock opened at $36.68 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.80. Universal Technical Institute has a twelve month low of $21.29 and a twelve month high of $45.74. The firm has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.64, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.25.

Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter. Universal Technical Institute had a return on equity of 13.02% and a net margin of 4.91%.The business had revenue of $221.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $221.61 million. Analysts predict that Universal Technical Institute will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Coliseum Capital Management, L sold 3,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.40, for a total transaction of $124,200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 971,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,217,616. This represents a 75.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Linda J. Srere sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.59, for a total value of $548,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 127,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,667,566.76. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,018,500 shares of company stock worth $124,904,320. 9.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Universal Technical Institute

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Universal Technical Institute by 68.5% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 152,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,964,000 after purchasing an additional 61,971 shares during the last quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. grew its stake in Universal Technical Institute by 73.3% in the fourth quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 68,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,790,000 after purchasing an additional 28,972 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in Universal Technical Institute by 89.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 231,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,055,000 after purchasing an additional 109,100 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Universal Technical Institute by 132.9% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,998,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Granahan Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Universal Technical Institute by 107.7% in the third quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 124,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,044,000 after purchasing an additional 64,421 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.67% of the company’s stock.

Universal Technical Institute Company Profile

Universal Technical Institute, Inc (NYSE: UTI) is a leading provider of post-secondary education for students pursuing careers as professional automotive, diesel, collision repair, motorcycle and marine technicians, as well as in welding and CNC machining. The company designs and delivers hands-on training through a blend of classroom instruction and experiential lab work, preparing graduates for entry-level positions in the transportation, manufacturing and energy sectors. UTI’s curriculum emphasizes industry-recognized credentials and proprietary coursework developed in collaboration with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to ensure alignment with evolving employer needs.

Through a network of campus locations across the United States and select centers in Canada, Universal Technical Institute offers diploma and certificate programs ranging from 36 to 74 weeks in length.