UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH) Short Interest Up 18.2% in May

UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during 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. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 428,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

UMH Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UMH traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $16.76. The company had a trading volume of 237,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 433,218. UMH Properties has a twelve month low of $15.00 and a twelve month high of $20.64. The stock has a market cap 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. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $17.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.07. 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. UMH Properties had a return on equity of 6.06% and a net margin of 11.81%. The company had revenue of $61.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.82 million. On average, research analysts predict that UMH Properties will post 0.93 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.225 per share. This is a positive change from UMH Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.37%. UMH Properties's payout ratio is 750.00%.

Insider Transactions at UMH Properties

In other news, Director William Edward Mitchell sold 70,852 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.20, for a total value of $1,218,654.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Samuel A. Landy sold 25,000 shares of UMH Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $19,937,684.15. The trade was a 2.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 135,826 shares of company stock valued at $2,323,564. 8.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UMH Properties

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UMH. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of UMH Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of UMH Properties by 1,011.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,456 shares during the period. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in UMH Properties in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in UMH Properties in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in UMH Properties during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. 75.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UMH. Maxim Group lowered their target price on UMH Properties from $22.00 to $20.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of UMH Properties in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of UMH Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.00.

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.