Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Sets New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $14.27 and last traded at $14.2650, with a volume of 796695 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.23.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a dividend of $0.063 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -75.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on UTZ shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Utz Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $14.25 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Stephens set a $14.25 target price on Utz Brands in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen cut Utz Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $14.25 price target (down from $15.00) on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.39.

Utz Brands Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.23 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.42.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.01. Utz Brands had a negative net margin of 2.00% and a positive return on equity of 8.97%. The business had revenue of $371.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Utz Brands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor acquired a new position in shares of Utz Brands in the second quarter valued at approximately $14,462,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 105.2% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,414,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,066,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,180 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Utz Brands by 249.9% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,658,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,215,000 after buying an additional 1,184,571 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Utz Brands by 42.3% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,946,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,979,000 after purchasing an additional 875,847 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 261.5% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 994,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,322,000 after buying an additional 719,361 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

Utz Brands Company Profile

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.