UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.00.

A number of analysts have recently commented on UMH shares. StockNews.com raised shares of UMH Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Maxim Group cut their price target on shares of UMH Properties from $22.00 to $20.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of UMH Properties in a report on Monday, January 13th.

UMH Properties Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of UMH traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $17.32. The stock had a trading volume of 464,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 431,305. The firm has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 133.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.35. UMH Properties has a twelve month low of $14.73 and a twelve month high of $20.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 8.48 and a quick ratio of 8.48.

UMH Properties (NYSE:UMH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23. The business had revenue of $61.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.82 million. UMH Properties had a return on equity of 6.06% and a net margin of 11.81%. On average, analysts anticipate that UMH Properties will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

UMH Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.20%. This is a boost from UMH Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. UMH Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 750.00%.

Insider Transactions at UMH Properties

In other news, Director William Edward Mitchell sold 70,852 shares of UMH Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.20, for a total transaction of $1,218,654.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 215,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,705,344.40. The trade was a 24.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 8.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UMH Properties

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UMH. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UMH Properties by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,506,462 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $141,722,000 after buying an additional 799,798 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in UMH Properties by 1.1% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of UMH Properties by 124.5% during the fourth 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 during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of UMH Properties by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,828,469 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $53,401,000 after purchasing an additional 67,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of UMH Properties by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,992,420 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $37,617,000 after purchasing an additional 48,480 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.40% of the company's stock.

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.