Universal (NYSE:UVV) Stock Passes Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV)’s share price passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $54.84 and traded as low as $52.93. Universal shares last traded at $53.24, with a volume of 84,478 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on UVV shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Universal in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Universal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Universal presently has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

Universal Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.70 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $52.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.79.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $754.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $704.30 million. Universal had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 3.74%.

Universal Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Universal by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,378,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,272,000 after buying an additional 21,763 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Universal by 21.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 815,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,579,000 after acquiring an additional 142,439 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Universal by 917.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 578,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,324,000 after acquiring an additional 521,724 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Universal by 5.9% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 463,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,913,000 after acquiring an additional 25,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Universal by 1.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 380,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,151,000 after purchasing an additional 3,958 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

About Universal

Universal Corporation (NYSE: UVV) is a global agribusiness company primarily engaged in the procurement, processing and sale of leaf tobacco. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company sources cured leaf tobacco from key growing regions in North and South America, Africa and Asia. Universal serves major multinational tobacco manufacturers by providing a full range of services including inventory management, quality control and logistics support to ensure a consistent and reliable supply of tobacco leaf.

In addition to its core leaf tobacco operations, Universal offers integrated supply-chain services that encompass warehousing, distribution and ingredient sourcing for smokeless and novel tobacco products.