B. Riley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI) Stock

Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI) had its target price upped by analysts at B. Riley from $22.00 to $25.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. B. Riley’s target price points to a potential upside of 28.73% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also commented on UTI. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Universal Technical Institute in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Universal Technical Institute in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Universal Technical Institute from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Northland Securities raised their price target on Universal Technical Institute from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Universal Technical Institute in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $22.20.

Universal Technical Institute Price Performance

NYSE UTI traded up $0.39 on Thursday, hitting $19.42. 240,684 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 526,237. Universal Technical Institute has a 52 week low of $9.18 and a 52 week high of $19.79. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $16.42 and a 200-day moving average of $16.23.

Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. Universal Technical Institute had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 3.82%. The company had revenue of $177.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.33 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.05) EPS. Analysts expect that Universal Technical Institute will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jerome Alan Grant sold 68,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $1,192,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 136,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,391,845.79. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Technical Institute

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 6,256.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares in the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Universal Technical Institute in the second quarter worth $43,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 1,526.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 3,815 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 95,120.0% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 9,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 54.2% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 10,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 3,643 shares during the last quarter. 75.67% of the stock is currently owned by 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.