HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI)

HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 32,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $845,000. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.06% of Universal Technical Institute at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UTI. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI purchased a new position in Universal Technical Institute in the 4th quarter valued at $79,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 380.6% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 3,056 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 822,000.0% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 8,220 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Universal Technical Institute during the fourth quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Universal Technical Institute in the third quarter valued at about $152,000. 75.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director George W. Brochick sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total transaction of $220,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $963,360.03. This represents a 18.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sherrell Smith sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.95, for a total transaction of $269,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 157,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,249,017.85. The trade was a 5.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 94,219 shares of company stock valued at $2,569,895. Corporate insiders own 15.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on UTI. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Universal Technical Institute from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Lake Street Capital increased their price objective on Universal Technical Institute from $22.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barrington Research upped their price target on shares of Universal Technical Institute from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Northland Securities raised their price objective on shares of Universal Technical Institute from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.17.

Universal Technical Institute Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UTI opened at $26.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.06. Universal Technical Institute, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.66 and a 52 week high of $30.56. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.49.

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

Universal Technical Institute Profile

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.