Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on UTI. Lake Street Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective (up from $35.00) on shares of Universal Technical Institute in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Universal Technical Institute from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Universal Technical Institute in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Universal Technical Institute in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.83.

Universal Technical Institute Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UTI opened at $25.80 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $32.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.58. Universal Technical Institute has a 1 year low of $15.14 and a 1 year high of $36.32.

Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $204.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $200.01 million. Universal Technical Institute had a net margin of 7.79% and a return on equity of 22.12%. Equities analysts anticipate that Universal Technical Institute will post 1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Universal Technical Institute news, COO Todd A. Hitchcock sold 27,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.36, for a total transaction of $917,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 80,521 shares in the company, valued at $2,686,180.56. This trade represents a 25.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 15.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Technical Institute

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Universal Technical Institute by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Universal Technical Institute by 4.9% during the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Universal Technical Institute by 17.0% during the second quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Universal Technical Institute by 2.9% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 27,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $704,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Universal Technical Institute by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.67% 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.