Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of UWM Call Options (NYSE:UWMC)

UWM Holdings Co. (NYSE:UWMC) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 12,580 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 120% compared to the average volume of 5,708 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on UWMC. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of UWM from $8.50 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of UWM in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $7.50 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of UWM from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of UWM from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of UWM from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $6.00 to $8.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.53.

UWM Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of UWM stock traded up $0.25 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $6.16. 929,218 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,965,959. 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 12-month low of $5.42 and a 12-month high of $9.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $7.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.68.

UWM Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.45, for a total transaction of $10,140,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 171,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,449,344. This represents a 87.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 94.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UWM

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UWMC. CWM LLC boosted its stake in UWM by 96.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 3,177 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in UWM during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Xponance Inc. acquired a new stake in UWM during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $76,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of UWM in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of UWM in the third quarter valued at approximately $85,000. 53.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.