Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,030,000 shares, a decrease of 19.5% from the November 30th total of 1,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 430,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kenneth R. Trammell sold 30,000 shares of Universal Technical Institute stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.92, for a total value of $777,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 128,205 shares in the company, valued at $3,323,073.60. The trade was a 18.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Universal Technical Institute by 6,256.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 380.6% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 3,056 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted 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 in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Universal Technical Institute in the third quarter worth $152,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 95,120.0% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 9,512 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UTI has been the subject of a number of research reports. B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of Universal Technical Institute from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Universal Technical Institute from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Northland Securities raised their target price on Universal Technical Institute from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of Universal Technical Institute from $22.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on shares of Universal Technical Institute from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.33.

Universal Technical Institute Price Performance

NYSE:UTI traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $25.71. 476,104 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 528,514. The company has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.48. Universal Technical Institute has a 1 year low of $12.14 and a 1 year high of $26.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $22.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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.