Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on UTI. Barrington Research lifted their target price on Universal Technical Institute from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Northland Securities started coverage on shares of Universal Technical Institute in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an outperform rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. TheStreet upgraded shares of Universal Technical Institute from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on shares of Universal Technical Institute from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $15.20.

Universal Technical Institute Price Performance

UTI opened at $15.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.97. The company has a market cap of $543.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Universal Technical Institute has a 12-month low of $5.63 and a 12-month high of $16.37.

Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $174.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.19 million. Universal Technical Institute had a net margin of 2.41% and a return on equity of 9.25%. Research analysts predict that Universal Technical Institute will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Loretta Lydia Sanchez sold 8,719 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.07, for a total value of $131,395.33. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $301,400. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 27.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Washington University acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Technical Institute in the 4th quarter worth $35,886,000. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Universal Technical Institute by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,071,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,316,000 after buying an additional 47,025 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Universal Technical Institute by 19.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,918,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,075,000 after acquiring an additional 309,804 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Universal Technical Institute by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,840,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,041,000 after buying an additional 63,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,537,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,605,000 after acquiring an additional 10,993 shares during the last quarter. 75.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.