UWM (NYSE:UWMC) Trading 7.2% Higher – What’s Next?

Shares of UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC) traded up 7.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $1.85 and last traded at $1.8650. Approximately 3,956,807 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 19,175,100 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on UWMC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $5.50 target price on shares of UWM in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on UWM from $5.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of UWM from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Argus upgraded shares of UWM to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of UWM from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $4.50 to $3.75 in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UWM presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.81.

UWM Trading Up 6.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $2.41 and a 200 day moving average of $3.64.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $901.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.85 million. UWM had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 19.01%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UWM Holdings Corporation will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UWM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 18th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 18th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 21.7%. UWM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 148.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UWM news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,003,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.39, for a total transaction of $3,401,298.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 7,932,876 shares of company stock valued at $28,471,634 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UWM

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of UWM by 5,681.9% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 4,091 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in UWM in the second quarter worth $35,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in UWM by 1,410.7% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 8,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 8,027 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in UWM during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in UWM during the first quarter valued at $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.59% of the company’s stock.

About UWM

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.