Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Stock Price Down 4%

Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ)’s stock price was down 4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $17.79 and last traded at $17.86. Approximately 195,235 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 773,991 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on UTZ. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $13.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Utz Brands from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Utz Brands in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised Utz Brands from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $19.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Utz Brands from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.63.

Utz Brands Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.01). Utz Brands had a negative net margin of 1.73% and a positive return on equity of 6.08%. The firm had revenue of $352.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $354.63 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.15 earnings per share. Utz Brands’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.059 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. This is a positive change from Utz Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently -77.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Series U. Of Um Partners, Llc sold 446,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.40, for a total value of $7,764,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 397,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,923,199. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Utz Brands news, major shareholder Series U. Of Um Partners, Llc sold 446,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.40, for a total value of $7,764,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 397,885 shares in the company, valued at $6,923,199. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Roger K. Deromedi sold 32,052 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.10, for a total transaction of $612,193.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,516,652 shares in the company, valued at $67,168,053.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 609,181 shares of company stock valued at $10,754,925. 17.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTZ. Pathstone Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 0.3% in the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 300,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,035,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Utz Brands by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 13,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 6.7% in the third quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 18,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its position in Utz Brands by 1.1% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 151,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,035,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. 95.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Utz Brands Company Profile

Utz Brands, Inc engages in manufacture, marketing, and distribution of snack foods. It offers a range of salty snacks, including salty snacks, including potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, pork skins, veggie snacks, pub/party mixes, tortilla chips, salsa and dips, ready-to-eat popcorn, and other snacks under the Utz, Zapp's, ON THE BORDER, Golden Flake, Boulder Canyon, Hawaiian, TORTIYAHS!, etc.