UWM (NYSE:UWMC) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $3.89, but opened at $4.09. UWM shares last traded at $4.1150, with a volume of 7,616,884 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on UWMC. Wall Street Zen upgraded UWM from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on UWM from $6.75 to $6.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Barclays lowered their price target on UWM from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of UWM from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of UWM in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $8.50 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.49.

UWM Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.75 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.64. The company’s fifty day moving average is $4.93 and its 200 day moving average is $5.39.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $945.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $759.12 million. UWM had a negative return on equity of 1.35% and a net margin of 0.87%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UWM Holdings Corporation will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

UWM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. UWM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 666.67%.

Insider Transactions at UWM

In other news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 632,874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $2,392,263.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,867,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,399,781.26. This represents a 11.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 19,797,526 shares of company stock valued at $97,470,411 over the last ninety days. 94.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in UWM in the 3rd quarter worth $1,337,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UWM by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,282,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,252,000 after buying an additional 1,010,907 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of UWM in the 2nd quarter worth about $792,000. AGF Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of UWM during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,072,000. Finally, 683 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in UWM during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $19,872,000. 53.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.