UWM (NYSE:UWMC) Raised to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• UWM has received an upgrade from "strong sell" to "hold" by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a more favorable outlook for the company.
• The stock has experienced a price target range adjustment, with analysts lowering estimates from $6.00 to $5.25, while maintaining a consensus target price of $5.54.
• UWM's CEO sold over 400,000 shares at an average price of $4.22 recently, indicating a significant personal transaction in the market.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on UWMC. Barclays upgraded UWM from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $6.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on UWM from $6.00 to $5.25 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. UBS Group upgraded UWM from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $4.75 to $4.50 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut UWM from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $6.50 to $4.50 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UWM currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $5.54.

UWM Price Performance

Shares of UWMC stock traded up $0.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $4.99. The company had a trading volume of 10,675,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,525,515. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -99.44 and a beta of 1.70. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $4.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.93. UWM has a one year low of $3.80 and a one year high of $9.74.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.10. UWM had a negative return on equity of 5.56% and a net margin of 0.48%. The firm had revenue of $758.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $621.60 million. Equities analysts expect that UWM will post 0.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 400,036 shares of UWM stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.22, for a total value of $1,688,151.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,499,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,327,265.44. The trade was a 21.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,200,828 shares of company stock valued at $38,935,504. 94.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UWM

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in UWM by 18.5% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 115,501 shares of the company's stock valued at $478,000 after buying an additional 18,034 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP grew its position in UWM by 85.2% in the second quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 92,706 shares of the company's stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 42,660 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in UWM by 65.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 180,164 shares of the company's stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 71,555 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its position in UWM by 25.5% in the second quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 307,000 shares of the company's stock worth $1,271,000 after acquiring an additional 62,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new position in UWM in the second quarter worth $67,000. Institutional investors own 53.59% of the company's stock.

About UWM

UWM Holdings Corporation engages in the residential mortgage lending business in the United States. The company offers mortgage loans through wholesale channel. It originates primarily conforming and government loans. UWM Holdings Corporation was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Pontiac, Michigan.