Short Interest in Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) Declines By 16.6%

Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,710,000 shares, a decrease of 16.6% from the March 15th total of 2,050,000 shares. Currently, 3.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 757,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director George W. Brochick sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total transaction of $220,720.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $963,360.03. The trade was a 18.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sherrell Smith sold 39,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.85, for a total value of $1,098,571.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 177,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,954,849.20. The trade was a 18.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 94,524 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,450 over the last 90 days. 15.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Technical Institute

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 24.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new stake in Universal Technical Institute during the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Technical Institute during the first quarter worth approximately $84,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Universal Technical Institute in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Universal Technical Institute in the 4th quarter worth approximately $118,000. 75.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Universal Technical Institute Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of UTI stock opened at $27.08 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.05, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Universal Technical Institute has a twelve month low of $13.66 and a twelve month high of $30.56. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.41.

Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.22. Universal Technical Institute had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 7.08%. As a group, research analysts predict that Universal Technical Institute will post 1 EPS for the current year.

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.