Traders Buy Large Volume of UWM Call Options (NYSE:UWMC)

UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 9,798 call options on the company. This is an increase of 82% compared to the average daily volume of 5,393 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UWMC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on UWM from $6.50 to $6.75 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $5.00 price target on UWM in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of UWM from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on UWM from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on UWM in a report on Friday, December 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $5.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.53.

Insider Activity at UWM

In other UWM news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 632,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.89, for a total value of $3,727,627.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,155,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,694,510.85. The trade was a 22.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,787,071 shares of company stock valued at $105,009,906. 87.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UWMC. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in UWM during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,630,000. 683 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UWM in the second quarter valued at $19,872,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in UWM by 116.6% during the 2nd 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. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in UWM by 165.5% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 4,988,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,382,000 after acquiring an additional 3,109,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP increased its position in UWM by 1,986.0% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 3,231,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,678,000 after acquiring an additional 3,076,340 shares in the last quarter. 53.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UWM Stock Performance

UWM stock traded down $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $5.06. The company had a trading volume of 11,294,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,501,920. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.29 and a 200-day moving average of $5.38. UWM has a 52 week low of $3.80 and a 52 week high of $7.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) last released 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 firm had revenue of $151.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $651.51 million. UWM had a negative return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 0.61%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that UWM will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UWM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 18th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 18th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.9%.

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.