Universal (NYSE:UVV) Sets New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $38.09 and last traded at $37.96, with a volume of 46,069 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UVV. Wall Street Zen raised Universal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 5th. Zacks Research upgraded Universal from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Universal from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Universal Trading Down 4.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $940.01 million, a PE ratio of -420.34, a P/E/G ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 2.54. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.99.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $621.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $630.10 million. Universal had a negative net margin of 0.09% and a positive return on equity of 1.88%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. Analysts expect that Universal Corporation will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 11th. Universal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -3,688.89%.

Institutional Trading of Universal

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UVV. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Universal by 35.5% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 353,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,638,000 after purchasing an additional 92,617 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Universal during the 1st quarter valued at $4,220,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Universal by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 165,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,916,000 after purchasing an additional 65,178 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Universal by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 188,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,860,000 after buying an additional 58,022 shares during the period. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Universal during the 3rd quarter worth $679,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

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.