Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 1,203,985 Shares of Universal Technical Institute Inc $UTI

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Technical Institute Inc (NYSE:UTI) by 1,366.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,292,125 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,203,985 shares during the quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Universal Technical Institute were worth $46,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UTI. Leuthold Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 141,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,704,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 2.1% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 21,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 4.3% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 12,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Universal Technical Institute by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 42,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,460,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Universal Technical Institute by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 8,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Universal Technical Institute from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Griffin Securities set a $49.00 price objective on shares of Universal Technical Institute in a report on Thursday, April 30th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Universal Technical Institute in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Universal Technical Institute from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Northland Securities set a $41.00 price objective on Universal Technical Institute in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.80.

Universal Technical Institute Stock Performance

UTI opened at $47.04 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $39.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.19. The company has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 1.22. Universal Technical Institute Inc has a 52-week low of $21.29 and a 52-week high of $47.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Universal Technical Institute had a return on equity of 13.02% and a net margin of 4.91%.The firm had revenue of $221.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $221.61 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Universal Technical Institute Inc will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Universal Technical Institute news, Director Coliseum Capital Management, L sold 3,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.40, for a total value of $124,200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 971,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,217,616. This represents a 75.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Christine Kline sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.42, for a total transaction of $155,470.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 43,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,910,326.52. The trade was a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 3,117,545 shares of company stock valued at $128,998,420 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 9.80% of the company’s stock.

Universal Technical Institute 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.