Short Interest in UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH) Decreases By 37.3%

UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 739,700 shares, a decline of 37.3% from the July 15th total of 1,180,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 430,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UMH Properties news, Director Michael P. Landy purchased 4,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.45 per share, with a total value of $72,615.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 341,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,280,748.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Samuel A. Landy sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.01, for a total value of $375,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,149,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,254,970.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael P. Landy purchased 4,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.45 per share, for a total transaction of $72,615.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 341,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,280,748.20. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 8.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of UMH Properties

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UMH. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in UMH Properties by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 394,433 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,307,000 after buying an additional 8,862 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of UMH Properties by 2.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 966,682 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,456,000 after acquiring an additional 22,844 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in UMH Properties by 11.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 421,850 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,745,000 after acquiring an additional 41,774 shares during the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in UMH Properties by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 48,046 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in UMH Properties by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,931,116 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,869,000 after purchasing an additional 29,320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Alliance Global Partners started coverage on UMH Properties in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. William Blair reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of UMH Properties in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Wedbush raised their price target on UMH Properties from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com raised UMH Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $18.50 price objective on shares of UMH Properties in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.25.

UMH Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UMH traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.33. 867,967 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 393,583. The company has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of -128.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.29. UMH Properties has a twelve month low of $13.26 and a twelve month high of $19.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 6.77 and a quick ratio of 6.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.89.

UMH Properties (NYSE:UMH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $60.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.84 million. UMH Properties had a return on equity of 3.17% and a net margin of 5.79%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UMH Properties will post 0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UMH Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.215 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.45%. UMH Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -573.30%.

About UMH Properties

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.