UWM (NYSE:UWMC) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Shares gapped up before trading to open at $4.09 (prior close $3.89) and were last quoted at $4.1150 on roughly 7.6 million shares exchanged.
• Analysts' consensus is a Hold with an average price target of $6.49 (rating mix: 3 Buys, 6 Holds, 1 Sell), despite several recent target adjustments by firms like Barclays and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
• UWM missed EPS ($0.08 vs. $0.09) but beat revenue expectations; it pays a quarterly $0.10 dividend (annualized yield 9.7%) with a payout ratio of 666.67%, and the CEO recently sold 632,874 shares amid ~19.8 million insider shares sold in 90 days while insiders still own 94.11% of the stock.

UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $3.89, but opened at $4.09. UWM shares last traded at $4.1150, with a volume of 7,616,884 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on UWMC. Wall Street Zen upgraded UWM from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on UWM from $6.75 to $6.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Barclays lowered their price target on UWM from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of UWM from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of UWM in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $8.50 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $6.49.

UWM Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.75 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.64. The company's fifty day moving average is $4.93 and its 200 day moving average is $5.39.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $945.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $759.12 million. UWM had a negative return on equity of 1.35% and a net margin of 0.87%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UWM Holdings Corporation will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

UWM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. UWM's dividend payout ratio is presently 666.67%.

Insider Transactions at UWM

In other news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 632,874 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $2,392,263.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,867,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,399,781.26. This represents a 11.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 19,797,526 shares of company stock valued at $97,470,411 over the last ninety days. 94.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in UWM in the 3rd quarter worth $1,337,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UWM by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,282,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,252,000 after buying an additional 1,010,907 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of UWM in the 2nd quarter worth about $792,000. AGF Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of UWM during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,072,000. Finally, 683 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in UWM during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $19,872,000. 53.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UWM Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.