Lake Street Capital Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI) Stock

Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI) had its price objective increased by analysts at Lake Street Capital from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Lake Street Capital’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 2.10% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on UTI. B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of Universal Technical Institute in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Barrington Research lifted their price target on shares of Universal Technical Institute from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Universal Technical Institute in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Northland Securities lifted their price objective on Universal Technical Institute from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $33.00.

Universal Technical Institute Stock Up 4.6 %

Shares of NYSE:UTI opened at $34.28 on Thursday. Universal Technical Institute has a fifty-two week low of $13.66 and a fifty-two week high of $34.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.64. The company has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.34, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.57.

Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $207.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $196.63 million. Universal Technical Institute had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 7.08%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Universal Technical Institute will post 1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Universal Technical Institute news, Director George W. Brochick sold 8,000 shares of Universal Technical Institute stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total value of $220,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $963,360.03. The trade was a 18.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sherrell Smith sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.95, for a total value of $269,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 157,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,249,017.85. This represents a 5.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 94,524 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,450. Corporate insiders own 15.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Technical Institute

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTI. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Universal Technical Institute by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,052,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,392,000 after buying an additional 306,984 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in Universal Technical Institute by 194.0% during the fourth quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,847,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,052 shares during the last quarter. Dumac Inc. purchased a new position in Universal Technical Institute during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,236,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,188,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,566,000 after purchasing an additional 6,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its stake in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,131,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,098,000 after buying an additional 109,255 shares during the period. 75.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Universal Technical Institute

Universal Technical Institute, Inc provides transportation, skilled trades, and healthcare education programs in the United States. The company operates in two segments, UTI and Concorde. It offers certificate, diploma, or degree programs under various brands, such as Universal Technical Institute, Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, Marine Mechanics Institute, NASCAR Technical Institute, and MIAT College of Technology.