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

Key Points

• Conestoga Capital Advisors dramatically increased its Universal Technical Institute stake, buying 1,203,985 shares in the first quarter and lifting its holding to 1,292,125 shares, or about 2.35% of the company.
• Insider selling has been heavy, including a 3 million-share sale by a director and a 94,500-share sale by CEO Jerome Alan Grant; insiders have sold 3,117,545 shares over the last three months.
• Analysts remain bullish on UTI, with several raising price targets and the consensus rating standing at “Moderate Buy” with a target price of $44.80, while the stock recently traded near its 52-week high.

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Universal Technical Institute Inc (NYSE:UTI - Free Report) by 1,366.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,292,125 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,203,985 shares during the quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned about 2.35% of Universal Technical Institute worth $46,646,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Universal Technical Institute during the second quarter worth $27,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Universal Technical Institute by 187.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Universal Technical Institute in the 1st quarter worth $57,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Universal Technical Institute by 4,500.0% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 5,428 shares of the company's stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 5,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Universal Technical Institute during the 1st quarter valued at about $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Technical Institute

In related news, Director Coliseum Capital Management, L sold 3,000,000 shares of Universal Technical Institute stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.40, for a total transaction of $124,200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 971,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,217,616. The trade was a 75.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jerome Alan Grant sold 94,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.40, for a total transaction of $3,912,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 335,715 shares in the company, valued at $13,898,601. The trade was a 21.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,117,545 shares of company stock valued at $128,998,420. Insiders own 9.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UTI shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Universal Technical Institute from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Universal Technical Institute from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Northland Securities set a $41.00 price objective on Universal Technical Institute in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Universal Technical Institute from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Griffin Securities set a $49.00 target price on shares of Universal Technical Institute in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.80.

Universal Technical Institute Trading Up 10.0%

UTI opened at $47.04 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $39.26 and a 200 day moving average of $34.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Universal Technical Institute Inc has a 12 month low of $21.29 and a 12 month high of $47.21. The firm has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 1.22.

Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $221.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $221.61 million. Universal Technical Institute had a return on equity of 13.02% and a net margin of 4.91%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Universal Technical Institute Inc will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Universal Technical Institute Company 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.

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