Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $13.34 and last traded at $13.36, with a volume of 748253 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.89.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UTZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Utz Brands from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Utz Brands from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Mizuho cut their target price on Utz Brands from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.20.

Utz Brands Stock Down 4.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -69.69, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $15.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $365.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.98 million. Utz Brands had a positive return on equity of 7.25% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.061 dividend. This is a positive change from Utz Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. Utz Brands’s payout ratio is -126.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cc Collier Holdings, Llc sold 2,815,404 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.29, for a total value of $48,678,335.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 496,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,576,497.02. This trade represents a 85.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Cary Devore sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.32, for a total value of $519,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 451,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,813,346.44. This represents a 6.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 17.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Utz Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 81,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,355,000 after buying an additional 7,981 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Utz Brands by 2.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 696,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,582,000 after acquiring an additional 14,647 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Utz Brands during the 2nd quarter worth $890,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Utz Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at $185,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Utz Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at $80,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

Utz Brands Company Profile

Utz Brands, Inc engages in manufacture, marketing, and distribution of snack foods. It offers a range of salty snacks, including salty snacks, including potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, pork skins, veggie snacks, pub/party mixes, tortilla chips, salsa and dips, ready-to-eat popcorn, and other snacks under the Utz, Zapp’s, ON THE BORDER, Golden Flake, Boulder Canyon, Hawaiian, TORTIYAHS!, etc.