UMH Properties (NYSE:UMH) Rating Lowered to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of UMH Properties (NYSE:UMH - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on UMH. Maxim Group reduced their target price on UMH Properties from $22.00 to $20.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating on shares of UMH Properties in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.00.

UMH Properties Price Performance

Shares of UMH stock remained flat at $16.82 on Thursday. 440,185 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 436,158. The firm has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 129.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.14. UMH Properties has a 1-year low of $14.94 and a 1-year high of $20.64. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $17.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.14. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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. Analysts predict that UMH Properties will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UMH Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.225 per share. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This is a boost from UMH Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. UMH Properties's payout ratio is currently 750.00%.

Insider Activity at UMH Properties

In related news, CEO Samuel A. Landy sold 25,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,165,265 shares in the company, valued at $19,937,684.15. This represents a 2.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William Edward Mitchell sold 70,852 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 215,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,705,344.40. This represents a 24.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,826 shares of company stock worth $2,323,564 in the last 90 days. 8.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of UMH Properties during the first quarter worth approximately $254,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in UMH Properties by 161.3% during the 1st quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 266,398 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,982,000 after buying an additional 164,465 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in UMH Properties by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 20,700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of UMH Properties by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 42,976 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $804,000 after buying an additional 1,871 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of UMH Properties by 1,091.0% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 896,183 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $16,759,000 after acquiring an additional 820,934 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.40% of the company's stock.

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.