Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $14.17 and last traded at $14.1450, with a volume of 5299595 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.06.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UTZ has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays cut Utz Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut Utz Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $14.25 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Utz Brands from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $14.25 price target (down from $15.00) on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.39.

Utz Brands Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -141.44 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $8.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.55.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.01. Utz Brands had a positive return on equity of 8.61% and a negative net margin of 0.58%.The company had revenue of $361.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.76 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.16 EPS. Utz Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Utz Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.771-0.795 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Utz Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd were paid a $0.063 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Utz Brands’s payout ratio is currently -250.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Utz Brands

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTZ. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 4,063,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,183,000 after buying an additional 613,699 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 886,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,199,000 after acquiring an additional 160,720 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Utz Brands during the fourth quarter valued at $2,336,000. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its position in Utz Brands by 195.5% during the first quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 849,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,728,000 after acquiring an additional 561,961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Utz Brands by 78.7% in the fourth quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 585,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,081,000 after acquiring an additional 258,003 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

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.