Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on UWM (NYSE:UWMC)

Key Points

• Traders purchased 34,068 put options on UWM—about a 262% increase over typical put volume—indicating heavy bearish bets or hedging activity.
• CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,003,333 shares at an average of $3.57 under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, and insiders disposed of 31,163,330 shares (~$120.6M) over the past three months despite insiders still owning 80.3%.
• UWM topped quarterly estimates (EPS $0.09 vs $0.06, revenue $901.4M vs $707.9M) and pays a quarterly $0.10 dividend (a 11.1% yield666.67%.

UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 34,068 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 262% compared to the typical volume of 9,420 put options.

UWM Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UWMC traded up $0.19 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $3.62. 31,141,767 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,306,344. UWM has a 12 month low of $3.38 and a 12 month high of $7.14. The firm has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a PE ratio of 60.25 and a beta of 1.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.64.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.03. UWM had a negative return on equity of 1.35% and a net margin of 0.87%.The company had revenue of $901.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $707.88 million. Research analysts expect that UWM will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UWM Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 19th. UWM's payout ratio is 666.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,003,333 shares of UWM stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.57, for a total transaction of $3,581,898.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,999,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,276,740.59. This trade represents a 20.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 31,163,330 shares of company stock worth $120,601,845 in the last three months. Company insiders own 80.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UWM

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of UWM by 5,681.9% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,163 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 4,091 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UWM in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of UWM by 1,410.7% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 8,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 8,027 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of UWM in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in shares of UWM in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 53.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on UWMC. Barclays reduced their price target on UWM from $6.00 to $5.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $5.00 price target on UWM in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded UWM from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Argus upgraded UWM to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut UWM from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UWM currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $5.99.

UWM Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.