Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on UWM (NYSE:UWMC)

UWM Holdings Co. (NYSE:UWMC) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 12,580 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 120% compared to the typical volume of 5,708 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.45, for a total transaction of $10,140,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 171,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,449,344. The trade was a 87.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 94.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UWMC. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC bought a new position in shares of UWM during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $21,797,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in UWM by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,218,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,064,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010,985 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in UWM by 1,743.3% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 239,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,662,000 after buying an additional 226,819 shares in the last quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of UWM in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,727,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in UWM by 13.2% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,712,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,870,000 after purchasing an additional 199,900 shares in the last quarter. 53.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on UWMC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of UWM from $8.50 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of UWM from $7.00 to $8.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays upgraded shares of UWM from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $6.00 to $8.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of UWM from $4.50 to $4.75 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of UWM from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UWM has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.53.

UWM Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of UWMC stock traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $6.16. The company had a trading volume of 929,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,965,959. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $7.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.68. 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 52-week low of $5.42 and a 52-week high of $9.74.

UWM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.49%. UWM’s payout ratio is currently -173.91%.

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.