Insider Selling: U-Haul (NYSE:UHAL) Major Shareholder Sells $1,207,730.00 in Stock

U-Haul Holding Company (NYSE:UHAL) major shareholder Mark Shoen sold 23,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.51, for a total value of $1,207,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 264,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,872,931.96. This trade represents a 8.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

U-Haul Stock Down 3.5%

UHAL opened at $58.66 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market cap of $11.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 196.13 and a beta of 1.07. U-Haul Holding Company has a 12 month low of $41.94 and a 12 month high of $76.45.

U-Haul (NYSE:UHAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter. U-Haul had a return on equity of 1.21% and a net margin of 1.54%. As a group, research analysts predict that U-Haul Holding Company will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of U-Haul by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 5,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of U-Haul by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 4,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 805 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of U-Haul in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its holdings in U-Haul by 28.9% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 11,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $725,000 after buying an additional 2,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in U-Haul in the second quarter worth approximately $534,000. 3.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on UHAL shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded U-Haul from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Citizens Jmp started coverage on U-Haul in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a “mkt outperform” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on U-Haul in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of U-Haul in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.00.

Key Headlines Impacting U-Haul

Here are the key news stories impacting U-Haul this week:

• Positive Sentiment: U-Haul reported net earnings available to common shareholders of $136.7 million, up from $105.6 million a year earlier, while revenue also increased. Company earnings release
• Neutral Sentiment: The company expects net fleet investments to fall by more than $500 million and is moderating its self-storage development pipeline to 5.5 million square feet. Lower investment could support cash flow, though a slower pipeline may limit growth. Fleet investment and storage pipeline report
• Negative Sentiment: Fiscal Q2 earnings per share of $0.71 for UHAL.B missed the FactSet estimate of $0.78, tempering the positive year-over-year profit and revenue trends. Earnings estimate comparison
• Negative Sentiment: Major shareholder Mark Shoen sold 23,000 shares for about $1.22 million, an 8.71% reduction in his holdings. Insider selling can weigh on sentiment, although he retained 241,196 shares. SEC ownership filing

About U-Haul

U-Haul, operated by U-Haul Holding Company (NYSE: UHAL), provides do-it-yourself moving and storage services to residential and commercial customers. Its offerings include rental trucks, trailers, towing equipment, vehicle storage, moving supplies and related services.

The company also operates self-storage facilities and offers portable storage through its U-Box® containers. Customers can access moving labor, hitch installation and other transportation-related services through U-Haul’s network of company-operated and independent dealer locations.

Founded in 1945 by Leonard Shoen, U-Haul serves customers throughout the United States and Canada.