Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Stock Position in Universal Technical Institute Inc $UTI

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Universal Technical Institute Inc by 778.8% in the first quarter, now owning about 0.35% of the company valued at approximately $4.85 million.
• Several institutional investors, including CWM LLC and Lazard Asset Management, have boosted their stakes, indicating strong interest in the company, which is 75.67% owned by hedge funds and institutional investors.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Buy" for the stock, with target prices ranging from $36.00 to $40.00, following a strong earnings report that exceeded expectations.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Universal Technical Institute Inc (NYSE:UTI - Free Report) by 778.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 188,891 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 167,396 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.35% of Universal Technical Institute worth $4,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Informed Momentum Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 333.1% during the 1st quarter. Informed Momentum Co LLC now owns 141,516 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,634,000 after buying an additional 108,838 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Universal Technical Institute by 34.9% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 44,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 11,488 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in Universal Technical Institute by 98.3% during the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 24,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 11,953 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Universal Technical Institute during the 1st quarter valued at about $6,761,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Universal Technical Institute during the 1st quarter valued at about $200,000. Institutional investors own 75.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on UTI. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Universal Technical Institute in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Universal Technical Institute from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Universal Technical Institute in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Lake Street Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $38.00 price objective (up from $35.00) on shares of Universal Technical Institute in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Universal Technical Institute from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Universal Technical Institute presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $35.83.

Universal Technical Institute Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UTI traded down $0.3330 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $26.4870. 560,446 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 773,318. Universal Technical Institute Inc has a 1 year low of $15.14 and a 1 year high of $36.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $30.93 and a 200 day moving average of $29.94.

Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.07. Universal Technical Institute had a net margin of 7.79% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The firm had revenue of $204.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $200.01 million. On average, analysts forecast that Universal Technical Institute Inc will post 1 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Technical Institute Company Profile

Universal Technical Institute, Inc provides transportation, skilled trades, and healthcare education programs in the United States. The company operates in two segments, UTI and Concorde. It offers certificate, diploma, or degree programs under various brands, such as Universal Technical Institute, Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, Marine Mechanics Institute, NASCAR Technical Institute, and MIAT College of Technology.