HighTower Advisors LLC Invests $845,000 in Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI)

HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 32,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $845,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 380.6% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 3,056 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI purchased a new position in Universal Technical Institute in the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Universal Technical Institute in the third quarter valued at approximately $152,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Technical Institute during the third quarter valued at approximately $174,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Universal Technical Institute during the third quarter worth $188,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on UTI shares. Northland Securities raised their target price on Universal Technical Institute from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barrington Research lifted their price objective on Universal Technical Institute from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Lake Street Capital increased their target price on Universal Technical Institute from $22.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Universal Technical Institute from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $31.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director George W. Brochick sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total transaction of $220,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,917 shares in the company, valued at $963,360.03. This represents a 18.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sherrell Smith sold 39,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.85, for a total value of $1,098,571.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 177,912 shares in the company, valued at $4,954,849.20. The trade was a 18.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 94,219 shares of company stock worth $2,569,895 over the last quarter. 15.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Universal Technical Institute Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UTI opened at $26.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.49. Universal Technical Institute, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.66 and a twelve month high of $30.56. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.06.

Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.22. Universal Technical Institute had a net margin of 7.08% and a return on equity of 21.25%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Universal Technical Institute, Inc. will post 1 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Technical Institute Company Profile

Universal Technical Institute, Inc provides transportation, skilled trades, and healthcare education programs in the United States. The company operates in two segments, UTI and Concorde. It offers certificate, diploma, or degree programs under various brands, such as Universal Technical Institute, Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, Marine Mechanics Institute, NASCAR Technical Institute, and MIAT College of Technology.