UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,200,000 shares, a growth of 28.9% from the November 30th total of 931,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 426,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised UMH Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.25.

UMH Properties Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE UMH opened at $18.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 144.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.29. UMH Properties has a 52 week low of $14.09 and a 52 week high of $20.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.52. The company has a quick ratio of 8.48, a current ratio of 8.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

UMH Properties (NYSE:UMH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $60.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.57 million. UMH Properties had a net margin of 11.81% and a return on equity of 6.06%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that UMH Properties will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UMH Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.215 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.59%. UMH Properties’s payout ratio is 661.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Angela D. Pruitt sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.26, for a total transaction of $53,928.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,993 shares in the company, valued at $153,945.18. The trade was a 25.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Samuel A. Landy sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total transaction of $977,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,104,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,599,348.30. The trade was a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 53,845 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,210. 8.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in UMH Properties by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 388,861 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,218,000 after acquiring an additional 34,249 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of UMH Properties by 12.4% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 19,119 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 2,102 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of UMH Properties by 5.7% in the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 871,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,938,000 after purchasing an additional 47,256 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of UMH Properties by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 112,860 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 12,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of UMH Properties by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,445 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.40% of the company’s stock.

UMH Properties Company Profile

UMH Properties, Inc, which was organized in 1968, is a public equity REIT that owns and operates 135 manufactured home communities containing approximately 25,800 developed homesites. These communities are located in New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia.