Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) Short Interest Down 19.5% in December

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Universal Technical Institute

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 6,256.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares in the last quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 2.7% during the second quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 77,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after buying an additional 2,060 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 9.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 2,083 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $197,000 after acquiring an additional 2,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in Universal Technical Institute by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 25,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 3,032 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.67% of the company’s stock.

Universal Technical Institute Trading Down 2.1 %

Universal Technical Institute stock traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $25.96. 339,653 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 528,992. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 35.08, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.53. Universal Technical Institute has a twelve month low of $12.14 and a twelve month high of $26.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.