Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Lowered to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on UTZ. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Utz Brands from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Utz Brands from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Utz Brands in a research report on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.38.

Utz Brands Stock Down 0.2%

UTZ stock opened at $10.41 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.22. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.86. Utz Brands has a fifty-two week low of $9.15 and a fifty-two week high of $14.67. The company has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 148.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.90.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Utz Brands had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The firm had revenue of $377.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.21 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Utz Brands has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.824-0.847 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Utz Brands will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Utz Brands news, CEO Howard A. Friedman bought 7,200 shares of Utz Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.58 per share, with a total value of $76,176.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 66,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $701,432.84. This trade represents a 12.18% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Series R. Of Um Partners, Llc purchased 15,000 shares of Utz Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $10.48 per share, with a total value of $157,200.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 615,000 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,200. This trade represents a 2.50% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 92,313 shares of company stock valued at $947,055. Company insiders own 16.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 42.3% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,946,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,979,000 after buying an additional 875,847 shares in the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Utz Brands by 93.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 1,688,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,521,000 after purchasing an additional 814,555 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 40.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,022,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,480,000 after purchasing an additional 585,952 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 31.8% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,004,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,159,000 after purchasing an additional 483,906 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Utz Brands by 39.7% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,702,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,687,000 after buying an additional 483,638 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

About Utz Brands

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.