UWM (NYSE:UWMC) Price Target Lowered to $4.50 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut its price target for UWM from $5.00 to $4.50 and retained a "market perform" rating; the analyst consensus remains a "Hold" with an average target of $5.79.
• Latest quarter beat expectations: UWM reported $0.09 EPS vs. $0.06 expected and $901.4M revenue vs. $709.9M expected, with a 1.92% net margin and 18.89% ROE.
• Significant insider selling: CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,003,333 shares (reducing his stake by 33.49%) and insiders have sold 31.53M shares in the last 90 days, though insiders still own 80.3% of the company.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $5.00 to $4.50 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "market perform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price would suggest a potential upside of 34.81% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $5.50 price objective on shares of UWM in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of UWM from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of UWM from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of UWM from $6.00 to $5.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Argus upgraded UWM to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $5.79.

UWM Trading Down 1.2%

UWMC stock opened at $3.34 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $3.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.73. UWM has a fifty-two week low of $3.27 and a fifty-two week high of $7.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.64, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35 and a beta of 1.78.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $901.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.85 million. UWM had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 18.89%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UWM will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at UWM

In other news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,003,333 shares of UWM stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.66, for a total transaction of $3,672,198.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,992,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,292,260.86. This trade represents a 33.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 31,533,789 shares of company stock worth $121,210,934 in the last ninety days. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of UWM

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UWM by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,959,442 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,042,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676,754 shares in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of UWM by 230.8% in the fourth quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 11,296,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,477,000 after acquiring an additional 7,881,586 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of UWM in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,867,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of UWM by 116.6% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,991,072 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,803,000 after acquiring an additional 3,224,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC bought a new stake in shares of UWM in the third quarter valued at about $32,630,000. 53.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About UWM

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.

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