UWM (NYSE:UWMC) Upgraded to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of UWM (NYSE:UWMC) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on UWMC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on UWM from $6.75 to $6.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $5.00 price target on UWM in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings raised UWM from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $4.40 price objective on shares of UWM in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $6.00 target price on shares of UWM in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.24.

UWM Stock Performance

NYSE:UWMC opened at $4.41 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The stock has a market cap of $7.06 billion, a PE ratio of 73.57 and a beta of 1.85. UWM has a fifty-two week low of $3.79 and a fifty-two week high of $7.14.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.01). UWM had a negative return on equity of 1.33% and a net margin of 0.87%.The company had revenue of $945.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $759.12 million. Analysts expect that UWM will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UWM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.1%. UWM’s payout ratio is presently 666.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 632,874 shares of UWM stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.03, for a total transaction of $2,550,482.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,330,659 shares in the company, valued at $13,422,555.77. The trade was a 15.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,348,052 shares of company stock worth $103,845,430. 87.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of UWM

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UWMC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in UWM by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,959,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,042,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676,754 shares during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP grew its position in shares of UWM by 230.8% in the fourth quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 11,296,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,477,000 after purchasing an additional 7,881,586 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP acquired a new position in UWM in the fourth quarter valued at $45,867,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in UWM by 116.6% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,991,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,803,000 after buying an additional 3,224,806 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in UWM in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,630,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.59% of the company’s stock.

More UWM News

Here are the key news stories impacting UWM this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and volume beat — UWM reported roughly $945M in Q4 revenue and its highest quarterly loan origination volume since 2021, showing demand and market‑share execution that support topline momentum. Q4 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly dividend announced ($0.10/share; ~9% yield) — that payout can attract income‑oriented holders and provide a baseline of demand. Dividend Announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst note roundups — recent analyst commentaries summarize mixed views after Q4; some maintain overweight/hold ratings while re‑setting targets. These pieces consolidate opinion but don’t move consensus decisively. Benzinga Analysts Roundup Yahoo: What Analysts Are Saying
• Neutral Sentiment: Options flow spike — unusually high call buying was reported around earnings (large volume vs. average). This signals speculative positioning or hedging but is ambiguous for longer‑term direction. Options Activity
• Negative Sentiment: EPS miss and weak margins — reported EPS (~$0.06–$0.08) came below consensus (~$0.09) and net margin/ROE remain pressured; earnings disappointment was a primary trigger for selling. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Conservative, wide Q1 guidance — the $650M–$850M revenue band increases near‑term uncertainty and left some analysts and traders disappointed. Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — CEO Mat Ishbia sold a sizable block (~632,874 shares on Feb. 25; SEC filing), which amplified negative sentiment despite possible liquidity reasons. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Price target trims and market reaction — Barclays and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered targets to $6.00 and moved ratings to market‑perform/overweight; the cuts and the EPS miss helped trigger a sharp intraday selloff (reports of a ~12% plunge and a new 12‑month low). MSN: Stock Plunge

UWM Company 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.