Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 532,300 shares, an increase of 25.5% from the February 28th total of 424,000 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 147,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Universal by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 995,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,580,000 after acquiring an additional 201,185 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Universal by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,218,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,730,000 after purchasing an additional 71,773 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Universal by 80.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 135,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,434,000 after purchasing an additional 60,580 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Universal by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,913,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,779,000 after purchasing an additional 38,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Universal by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 285,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,672,000 after purchasing an additional 38,914 shares during the period. 81.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Universal Stock Performance

Shares of Universal stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $56.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 94,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 161,675. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 2.60. Universal has a one year low of $45.19 and a one year high of $59.13. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.39. The stock has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 0.79.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.78%. Universal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Universal Company Profile

Universal Corporation processes and supplies leaf tobacco and plant-based ingredients worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Tobacco Operations; and Ingredients Operations. It is involved in the procuring, financing, processing, packing, storing, and shipping leaf tobacco for sale to manufacturers of consumer tobacco products.