Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Purchases Shares of 73,942 Universal Corporation $UVV

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 73,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,306,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UVV. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Universal in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Universal by 63.2% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Universal in the 1st quarter worth about $202,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in shares of Universal in the 1st quarter worth about $233,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Universal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $236,000. 81.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on UVV shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Universal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Universal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Universal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Insider Transactions at Universal

In other Universal news, COO Airton L. Hentschke sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.94, for a total transaction of $549,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 135,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,423,987.26. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Universal Stock Down 0.8%

Universal stock opened at $52.81 on Friday. Universal Corporation has a one year low of $49.40 and a one year high of $67.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $53.95 and a 200 day moving average of $56.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 2.49. The stock has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.73.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $754.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $704.30 million. Universal had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 3.51%.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. Universal’s payout ratio is 73.87%.

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.