Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $9.15 and last traded at $9.43, with a volume of 249488 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on UTZ shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Utz Brands from $13.50 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Utz Brands in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Utz Brands from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Utz Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.93.

Utz Brands Trading Up 0.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.92. The company has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 142.21, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.90.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.23. The business had revenue of $377.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $374.25 million. Utz Brands had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.21 EPS. Utz Brands has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.824-0.847 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.85 EPS for the current year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.063 dividend. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This is an increase from Utz Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 357.14%.

Insider Activity at Utz Brands

In other news, Director Dylan Lissette purchased 7,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.99 per share, for a total transaction of $70,029.90. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 160,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,605,333.06. This represents a 4.56% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Series R. Of Um Partners, Llc purchased 12,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $9.60 per share, for a total transaction of $119,232.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 628,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,034,502.40. This trade represents a 2.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders bought a total of 92,313 shares of company stock valued at $947,055 in the last three months. 16.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Utz Brands

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Utz Brands by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,085,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,370,000 after buying an additional 413,493 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 10.8% in the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 3,131,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,043,000 after acquiring an additional 304,163 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 42.3% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,946,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,979,000 after acquiring an additional 875,847 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Utz Brands by 0.5% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,022,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,576,000 after purchasing an additional 9,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Utz Brands by 40.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,022,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,480,000 after purchasing an additional 585,952 shares during the period. 95.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Utz Brands

Utz Brands, Inc is a leading U.S. manufacturer and distributor of salty snack foods, offering a wide range of products including potato chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, popcorn and tortilla chips. Headquartered in Hanover, Pennsylvania, the company markets its snacks under several well-known brands and serves grocery, mass merchandise, club, convenience and online retailers throughout the United States.

Founded in 1921 by Bill and Salie Utz as a small country store operation, the business expanded gradually through direct delivery to local customers and sales to regional grocers.