Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Pessimistic Forecast for UWM (NYSE:UWMC) Stock Price

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut UWM's price target to $5.00 (from $6.00) and left a "market perform" rating, a target that implies about a 35% upside from the prior close.
• Shares fell 5.7% to $3.70 on heavy volume; UWM reported a slight quarterly EPS miss ($0.08 vs. $0.09) while revenue beat expectations ($945.3M vs. $759.1M), and the stock trades in a 1‑year range of $3.38–$7.14.
• CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,000,574 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and insiders have sold ~24.6M shares (~$107.8M) in the past 90 days, though insiders still own 87.5% of the company.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $6.00 to $5.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "market perform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price would suggest a potential upside of 35.32% from the stock's previous close.

UWMC has been the subject of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $5.00 target price on shares of UWM in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of UWM from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of UWM from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Argus upgraded shares of UWM to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Compass Point started coverage on shares of UWM in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $8.50 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $6.24.

UWM Stock Down 5.7%

Shares of UWMC traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3.70. 6,264,340 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,587,654. UWM has a 1 year low of $3.38 and a 1 year high of $7.14. The firm's fifty day moving average is $4.19 and its 200-day moving average is $5.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.58 and a beta of 1.93.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UWM news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,000,574 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.87, for a total transaction of $3,872,221.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 7,326,413 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,353,218.31. This trade represents a 12.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,561,842 shares of company stock worth $107,798,721. Insiders own 87.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UWM

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC acquired a new position in shares of UWM in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,630,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in UWM in the 3rd quarter worth $12,237,000. Alight Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in UWM in the 3rd quarter worth $3,958,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in UWM by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,282,688 shares of the company's stock worth $105,252,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in UWM in the 3rd quarter worth $1,337,000. 53.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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