Azora Capital LP Increases Holdings in UWM Holdings Corporation $UWMC

Azora Capital LP grew its holdings in UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC) by 230.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,296,053 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,881,586 shares during the period. UWM comprises about 3.1% of Azora Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Azora Capital LP’s holdings in UWM were worth $49,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of UWM by 5,681.9% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 4,091 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of UWM in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UWM in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of UWM by 1,410.7% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 8,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 8,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in shares of UWM in the first quarter valued at about $55,000. 53.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UWM Trading Down 6.4%

Shares of NYSE UWMC opened at $2.28 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $3.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52. UWM Holdings Corporation has a 1-year low of $2.25 and a 1-year high of $7.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.43 and a beta of 1.72.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.03. UWM had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 1.92%.The company had revenue of $901.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.85 million. As a group, research analysts expect that UWM Holdings Corporation will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

UWM Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 17.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 18th. UWM’s payout ratio is presently 148.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UWM news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,003,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.39, for a total transaction of $3,401,298.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 22,941,486 shares of company stock worth $84,173,589 over the last quarter. Insiders own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $4.40 price objective on UWM in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays lowered their price objective on UWM from $6.00 to $5.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $5.50 target price on shares of UWM in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Compass Point started coverage on UWM in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $8.50 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded UWM from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UWM presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.19.

UWM Profile

United Wholesale Mortgage (NYSE: UWMC) is a leading mortgage lender in the United States specializing in the wholesale channel. The company partners with independent mortgage brokers, community banks and credit unions to offer a full suite of residential mortgage products. Through its network of third-party originators, United Wholesale Mortgage underwrites, funds and closes loans, allowing its partners to focus on customer acquisition and service.

The company’s product offerings include conventional fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgages, Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, Veterans Affairs (VA) loans, U.S.