State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Boosts Stake in UMH Properties, Inc. $UMH

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in UMH Properties, Inc. by 5.6%, owning approximately 0.49% of the company, valued at $7.7 million.
• Insider activity includes significant sales by Director William Edward Mitchell and CEO Samuel A. Landy, collectively selling over 120,000 shares in recent transactions.
• Analysts have varied ratings on UMH Properties, with Maxim Group lowering its price target and Wall Street Zen downgrading from "hold" to "sell," while others maintained or upgraded their "buy" ratings.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in shares of UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 411,742 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 22,000 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned 0.49% of UMH Properties worth $7,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of UMH Properties by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,251,335 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $99,146,000 after acquiring an additional 57,547 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of UMH Properties by 124.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,031,849 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $76,121,000 after acquiring an additional 2,236,080 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of UMH Properties by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,105,608 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $39,375,000 after acquiring an additional 10,602 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of UMH Properties by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,180,928 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $22,296,000 after acquiring an additional 251,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of UMH Properties by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,144,077 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $21,600,000 after acquiring an additional 7,831 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.40% of the company's stock.

UMH Properties Stock Performance

Shares of UMH stock traded up $0.3450 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $16.0150. The company had a trading volume of 979,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 464,629. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $16.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.28. UMH Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.46 and a 52-week high of $20.64. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.39, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 8.56 and a quick ratio of 8.56.

UMH Properties (NYSE:UMH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.02). UMH Properties had a net margin of 12.18% and a return on equity of 5.19%. The company had revenue of $66.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $66.07 million. Research analysts anticipate that UMH Properties, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UMH Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. UMH Properties's payout ratio is 642.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William Edward Mitchell sold 75,849 shares of UMH Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.32, for a total value of $1,237,855.68. Following the sale, the director directly owned 41,368 shares in the company, valued at $675,125.76. The trade was a 64.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Samuel A. Landy sold 45,700 shares of UMH Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.40, for a total value of $749,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,101,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,061,041.20. This trade represents a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 146,549 shares of company stock worth $2,409,086. Company insiders own 8.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Maxim Group dropped their price target on UMH Properties from $22.00 to $20.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating on shares of UMH Properties in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wedbush upgraded UMH Properties to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded UMH Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.25.

About UMH Properties

UMH Properties, Inc, which was organized in 1968, is a public equity REIT that owns and operates 135 manufactured home communities containing approximately 25,800 developed homesites. These communities are located in New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia.