Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys Shares of 34,314 UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 34,314 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $675,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its position in UMH Properties by 245.9% during the first quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 664,377 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $10,789,000 after acquiring an additional 472,307 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in UMH Properties during the 2nd quarter worth $2,300,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in UMH Properties by 268.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 127,087 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,032,000 after buying an additional 92,625 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in UMH Properties by 5.7% in the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 871,668 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $13,938,000 after acquiring an additional 47,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of UMH Properties by 5.2% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 868,525 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $13,888,000 after acquiring an additional 43,154 shares in the last quarter. 75.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UMH Properties Price Performance

Shares of UMH stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $19.24. 345,453 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 300,997. The company has a quick ratio of 8.48, a current ratio of 8.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. UMH Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.91 and a 52-week high of $20.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $19.16 and a 200 day moving average of $17.88. The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 148.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.30.

UMH Properties (NYSE:UMH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.13). UMH Properties had a net margin of 11.81% and a return on equity of 6.06%. The business had revenue of $60.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $61.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.22 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that UMH Properties, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

UMH Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.215 dividend. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. UMH Properties's payout ratio is 661.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on UMH shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UMH Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, November 16th. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of UMH Properties from $18.50 to $22.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on UMH Properties from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at UMH Properties

In other news, Director Angela D. Pruitt sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.26, for a total value of $53,928.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,993 shares in the company, valued at $153,945.18. This represents a 25.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Samuel A. Landy sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total transaction of $977,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,104,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,599,348.30. The trade was a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 8.63% of the company's stock.

UMH Properties Company Profile

UMH Properties, Inc, which was organized in 1968, is a public equity REIT that owns and operates 135 manufactured home communities containing approximately 25,800 developed homesites. These communities are located in New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia.