Universal (NYSE:UVV) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.19 EPS

Universal (NYSE:UVV) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.19), FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $621.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $630.10 million. Universal had a net margin of 0.67% and a return on equity of 3.50%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share.

Universal Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Universal stock traded up $0.74 during trading on Thursday, reaching $40.49. 380,733 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 266,177. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 52.68, a P/E/G ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 0.61. Universal has a 1-year low of $38.11 and a 1-year high of $59.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 1st. Investors of record on Monday, January 11th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 11th. Universal’s payout ratio is presently 431.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lennart Freeman sold 1,782 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.82, for a total transaction of $88,779.24. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,701.70. This represents a 9.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Universal News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Universal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Universal declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, equivalent to $3.32 annually and a reported yield of about 8.4%. Universal Corporation Announces Quarterly Dividend and Share Repurchase Program
• Positive Sentiment: The board also authorized repurchases of up to $100 million of shares, providing another potential source of shareholder returns. Universal Corporation Announces Quarterly Dividend and Share Repurchase Program
• Neutral Sentiment: Universal appointed Gregory R. Friedman, a finance and operations executive with more than 30 years of experience, to its board. The appointment may strengthen board expertise but has no stated immediate earnings impact. Universal Corporation Announces Appointment of Gregory R. Friedman to Board of Directors
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter EPS was $0.39, below the $0.58 consensus and down from $1.36 a year earlier. Revenue of $621.85 million also missed estimates of $630.10 million. Management cited slower timing of tobacco shipments, raising concern about near-term operating performance. Universal Corporation Reports Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2027 Results
• Negative Sentiment: The annualized dividend of $3.32 is slightly above the supplied full-year EPS forecast of $3.18, suggesting limited earnings coverage if that estimate holds. Universal Corporation Announces Quarterly Dividend and Share Repurchase Program

Analyst Ratings Changes

UVV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Universal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Universal from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Universal from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Universal Company Profile

Universal Corporation (NYSE: UVV) is a global agricultural products company primarily engaged in the procurement, processing and sale of leaf tobacco. Through its tobacco operations, the company purchases tobacco from growers, processes and stores the leaf, and supplies it to manufacturers of cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco and other tobacco products.

Universal handles several types of tobacco, including flue-cured, burley, dark air-cured and oriental varieties, as well as other specialty leaf products.