Insider Selling: Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) Director Sells 8,719 Shares of Stock

Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) Director Loretta Lydia Sanchez sold 8,719 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.07, for a total transaction of $131,395.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $301,400. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Universal Technical Institute Stock Up 5.0 %

Shares of NYSE:UTI traded up $0.76 during trading on Thursday, hitting $15.94. 1,137,203 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 674,879. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $14.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.89. Universal Technical Institute, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $5.63 and a fifty-two week high of $16.37. The stock has a market cap of $543.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.20.

Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $174.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.19 million. Universal Technical Institute had a net margin of 2.41% and a return on equity of 9.25%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Universal Technical Institute, Inc. will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Universal Technical Institute

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UTI. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 1,152.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,880 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Universal Technical Institute in the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Universal Technical Institute by 297.3% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 4,629 shares during the last quarter. AJOVista LLC bought a new stake in shares of Universal Technical Institute during the fourth quarter worth approximately $78,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Universal Technical Institute in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 75.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on UTI shares. TheStreet raised shares of Universal Technical Institute from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com cut Universal Technical Institute from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barrington Research lifted their target price on Universal Technical Institute from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Northland Securities started coverage on Universal Technical Institute in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $16.00 price target for the company. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Universal Technical Institute from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Universal Technical Institute has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.20.

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.