UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,430,000 shares, a growth of 18.2% from the April 30th total of 1,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 428,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 2.0% of the company's shares are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UMH Properties news, Director William Edward Mitchell sold 39,974 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.94, for a total value of $677,159.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 115,627 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,958,721.38. This trade represents a 25.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Samuel A. Landy sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.11, for a total transaction of $427,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,165,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,937,684.15. This represents a 2.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 135,826 shares of company stock valued at $2,323,564. Company insiders own 8.77% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of UMH Properties

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UMH. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UMH Properties by 11.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 799,798 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UMH Properties by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,324,531 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $99,569,000 after acquiring an additional 73,196 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of UMH Properties by 124.5% in the 4th 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. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in UMH Properties by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,105,608 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $39,375,000 after buying an additional 10,602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in UMH Properties by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,992,420 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $37,617,000 after buying an additional 48,480 shares in the last quarter. 75.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UMH Properties Trading Up 0.0%

UMH stock traded up $0.01 on Friday, hitting $16.76. 237,187 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 432,932. UMH Properties has a twelve month low of $15.00 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. The business's fifty day moving average is $17.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.12.

UMH Properties (NYSE:UMH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.23. The company had revenue of $61.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.82 million. UMH Properties had a net margin of 11.81% and a return on equity of 6.06%. As a group, research analysts forecast that UMH Properties will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

UMH Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.225 per share. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.37%. This is a boost from UMH Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. UMH Properties's dividend payout ratio is 750.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on UMH shares. Maxim Group decreased their price target on shares of UMH Properties from $22.00 to $20.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of UMH Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, B. Riley restated a "buy" rating on shares of UMH Properties in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.00.

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.