Argus Upgrades UWM (NYSE:UWMC) to Hold

Key Points

• Argus upgraded UWM to a Hold rating; the street consensus remains a Hold overall (3 Buy, 7 Hold, 1 Sell) with an average price target of $6.49.
• UWM reported $0.08 EPS (missed $0.09 consensus) while revenue of $945.3M beat estimates; shares trade around $3.65 (1‑year range $3.38–$7.14), and CEO Ishbia sold 1,000,574 shares at about $3.70, cutting his stake by 8.11% as insiders own 87.5% of the company.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Argus to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of UWM in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $6.00 price target on UWM in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $5.00 price objective on UWM in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of UWM from $6.75 to $6.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $4.40 price objective on UWM in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Three research 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 MarketBeat.com, UWM presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $6.49.

UWM Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UWMC opened at $3.65 on Tuesday. UWM has a 1 year low of $3.38 and a 1 year high of $7.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.75 and a beta of 1.92. The company's 50-day moving average is $4.43 and its 200 day moving average is $5.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.01). UWM had a net margin of 0.87% and a negative return on equity of 1.35%. The firm had revenue of $945.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $759.12 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that UWM will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,000,574 shares of UWM stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.70, for a total value of $3,702,123.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,335,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,939,585.10. The trade was a 8.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 22,090,468 shares of company stock valued at $101,368,888. Company insiders own 87.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UWM

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC bought a new stake in shares of UWM during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,630,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in UWM during the third quarter valued at about $12,237,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in UWM by 6.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,282,688 shares of the company's stock worth $105,252,000 after buying an additional 1,010,907 shares in the last quarter. Alight Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of UWM in the third quarter worth about $3,958,000. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of UWM during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,337,000. 53.59% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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