Short Interest in UWM Holdings Co. (NYSE:UWMC) Rises By 20.2%

UWM Holdings Co. (NYSE:UWMC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 18,490,000 shares, a growth of 20.2% from the February 13th total of 15,380,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,390,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.5 days. Approximately 19.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UWM

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UWMC. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in UWM during the 4th quarter valued at $72,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in UWM during the 4th quarter valued at $77,000. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in UWM by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 2,631 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. purchased a new position in UWM during the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UWM in the 3rd quarter worth about $85,000. 53.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UWM Price Performance

UWMC stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $6.08. The company had a trading volume of 781,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,490,325. The company has a market capitalization of $9.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.41 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. UWM has a 1 year low of $5.31 and a 1 year high of $9.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $6.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.69.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $560.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $645.75 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that UWM will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UWM Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.58%. UWM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 500.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of UWM from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $6.50 to $7.50 in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of UWM from $7.50 to $6.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $6.50 price objective on shares of UWM in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.25.

UWM Company Profile

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.