UMH Properties (NYSE:UMH) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of UMH Properties (NYSE:UMH) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

A number of other research firms have also commented on UMH. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of UMH Properties in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Maxim Group lowered their price target on shares of UMH Properties from $22.00 to $20.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

UMH Properties Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE UMH opened at $16.76 on Friday. UMH Properties has a twelve month low of $15.00 and a twelve month high of $20.64. The business’s fifty day moving average is $17.14 and its 200 day moving average is $18.03. The company has a quick ratio of 8.48, a current ratio of 8.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.12.

UMH Properties (NYSE:UMH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.23. The firm had revenue of $61.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.82 million. UMH Properties had a net margin of 11.81% and a return on equity of 6.06%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UMH Properties will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UMH Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.225 per share. This is an increase from UMH Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. UMH Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 750.00%.

Insider Transactions at UMH Properties

In other news, Director William Edward Mitchell sold 39,974 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.94, for a total transaction of $677,159.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 115,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,958,721.38. This trade represents a 25.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Samuel A. Landy sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.11, for a total transaction of $427,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,165,265 shares in the company, valued at $19,937,684.15. The trade was a 2.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 135,826 shares of company stock valued at $2,323,564. Corporate insiders own 8.77% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UMH Properties

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UMH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in UMH Properties by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,506,462 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $141,722,000 after buying an additional 799,798 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in UMH Properties by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,324,531 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $99,569,000 after purchasing an additional 73,196 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in UMH Properties by 124.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,031,849 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $76,121,000 after purchasing an additional 2,236,080 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of UMH Properties by 0.5% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,105,608 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,375,000 after purchasing an additional 10,602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UMH Properties by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,992,420 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,617,000 after purchasing an additional 48,480 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.40% of the company’s stock.

About UMH Properties

UMH Properties, Inc, which was organized in 1968, is a public equity REIT that owns and operates 135 manufactured home communities containing approximately 25,800 developed homesites. These communities are located in New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia.