Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on UWM (NYSE:UWMC)

Key Points

• UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC) experienced a significant spike in options trading, with 21,222 call options purchased, marking a 437% increase from its average volume.
• Recent analyst ratings for UWM show mixed opinions, with price targets ranging from $4.50 to $6.00, reflecting changes from firms like Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Barclays.
• CEO Ishbia Mat sold 400,036 shares of UWM for over $1.8 million, indicating a 17.40% decrease in his holdings, while insider transactions over the last quarter totaled nearly $39 million.

UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 21,222 call options on the stock. Thisisanincreaseof437% compared to the average daily volume of 3,949 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UWM news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 400,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.35, for a total value of $2,140,192.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,098,452 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,926,718.20. This represents a 8.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,400,936 shares of company stock worth $45,412,087. Company insiders own 94.11% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UWM

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. 683 Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of UWM during the 2nd quarter worth $19,872,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of UWM by 886.9% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,727,477 shares of the company's stock worth $21,880,000 after acquiring an additional 3,349,779 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted 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 worth $24,803,000 after acquiring an additional 3,224,806 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UWM by 1,144.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,496,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,633,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azora Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of UWM during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $9,032,000. Institutional investors own 53.59% of the company's stock.

UWM Price Performance

UWMC traded down $0.01 on Monday, hitting $5.37. 7,477,608 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,775,506. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -107.40 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55. UWM has a 12 month low of $3.80 and a 12 month high of $9.74. The business has a 50-day moving average of $4.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.91.

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

UWM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 18th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 18th. UWM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -800.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UWMC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of UWM from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $6.50 to $4.50 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of UWM from $6.00 to $5.25 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays upgraded shares of UWM from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $6.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of UWM from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $5.54.

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.