Norges Bank Buys New Shares in Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 204,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,268,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new stake in Universal Technical Institute in the fourth quarter worth approximately $79,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Universal Technical Institute in the 4th quarter valued at $206,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 822,000.0% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 8,220 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Universal Technical Institute during the fourth quarter worth $212,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Universal Technical Institute in the third quarter worth $152,000. 75.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UTI. Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on shares of Universal Technical Institute from $22.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Universal Technical Institute from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barrington Research boosted their price objective on Universal Technical Institute from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. B. Riley started coverage on Universal Technical Institute in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Northland Securities lifted their price target on shares of Universal Technical Institute from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $32.17.

Universal Technical Institute Stock Performance

Shares of UTI opened at $27.53 on Thursday. Universal Technical Institute, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.66 and a 52 week high of $30.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.48.

Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.22. Universal Technical Institute had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 7.08%. Equities analysts forecast that Universal Technical Institute, Inc. will post 1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Universal Technical Institute news, EVP Sherrell Smith sold 36,773 shares of Universal Technical Institute stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.68, for a total transaction of $981,103.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 227,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,065,911.44. This trade represents a 13.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director George W. Brochick sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total value of $220,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $963,360.03. This represents a 18.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 94,219 shares of company stock worth $2,569,895 over the last quarter. Insiders own 15.10% of the company’s stock.

About Universal Technical Institute

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.