Short Interest in UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH) Declines By 23.7%

Key Points

• The short interest in UMH Properties, Inc. decreased by 23.7% in August, bringing the total to 1,670,000 shares.
• CEO Samuel A. Landy sold 45,700 shares at $16.40 each, reducing his ownership by 3.98%, while Director William Edward Mitchell sold 75,849 shares, decreasing his stake by 64.71%.
• UMH Properties reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.23, missing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.225 with a yield of 5.9%.

UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,670,000 shares, a drop of 23.7% from the August 15th total of 2,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 525,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 525,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered UMH Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wedbush raised UMH Properties to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UMH Properties has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Samuel A. Landy sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.25, for a total transaction of $152,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,091,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,642,065.75. This represents a 0.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Angela D. Pruitt sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.06, for a total transaction of $25,696.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $159,074.30. The trade was a 13.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 133,149 shares of company stock valued at $2,165,532 over the last three months. 8.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UMH Properties

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UMH. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of UMH Properties by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 13,062 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in shares of UMH Properties by 13.8% during the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 118,627 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,990,000 after buying an additional 14,343 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of UMH Properties by 468.6% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 14,385 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 11,855 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of UMH Properties by 127.5% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 9,182 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 5,146 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in UMH Properties by 8.3% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,189,252 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $19,968,000 after acquiring an additional 91,202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.40% of the company's stock.

UMH Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UMH traded down $0.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $14.75. 1,461,913 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 658,269. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.36, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 8.56, a current ratio of 8.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. UMH Properties has a one year low of $14.75 and a one year high of $20.42. The business's fifty day moving average is $15.99 and its 200-day moving average is $16.87.

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

UMH Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.225 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. UMH Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 642.86%.

UMH Properties Company Profile

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.