UWM Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:UWMC)

UWM Holdings Co. (NYSE:UWMC) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 5,337 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 114% compared to the typical volume of 2,493 call options.

Institutional Trading of UWM

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UWMC. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UWM by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 574,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,893,000 after purchasing an additional 7,846 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in UWM by 446.3% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 159,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,360,000 after buying an additional 130,439 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in UWM during the 3rd quarter worth $1,065,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new position in UWM in the 3rd quarter valued at $106,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of UWM by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,592,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,723,000 after acquiring an additional 76,221 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on UWMC shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of UWM from $7.50 to $6.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $6.50 target price on shares of UWM in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded UWM from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $6.50 to $7.50 in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.25.

UWM Trading Down 6.4 %

Shares of UWMC stock opened at $4.62 on Wednesday. UWM has a 12-month low of $4.57 and a 12-month high of $9.74. The company has a market capitalization of $7.38 billion, a PE ratio of -20.07 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $6.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $560.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.75 million. As a group, analysts predict that UWM will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

UWM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. UWM’s dividend payout ratio is 500.00%.

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.