Piper Sandler Reiterates “Neutral” Rating for Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ)

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating restated by stock analysts at Piper Sandler in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $14.25 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $10.00. Piper Sandler’s price objective points to a potential upside of 1.24% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $14.25 target price (down from $15.00) on shares of Utz Brands in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Utz Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $14.25 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Utz Brands in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Utz Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $14.25 target price on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Utz Brands currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.39.

Utz Brands Stock Performance

NYSE UTZ opened at $14.07 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $7.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -140.74, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.82. Utz Brands has a 1-year low of $6.78 and a 1-year high of $14.53.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.01. Utz Brands had a positive return on equity of 8.61% and a negative net margin of 0.58%.The company had revenue of $361.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.76 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.16 earnings per share. Utz Brands’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Utz Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.771-0.795 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Utz Brands will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 4,063,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,183,000 after buying an additional 613,699 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in Utz Brands by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 886,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,199,000 after acquiring an additional 160,720 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Utz Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $2,336,000. Systematic Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in Utz Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $2,984,000. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 78.7% in the 4th quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 585,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,081,000 after purchasing an additional 258,003 shares during the period. 95.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Utz Brands

Here are the key news stories impacting Utz Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Utz Brands agreed to be taken private by Intersnack in an all-cash transaction, creating a clear takeover premium for shareholders. Utz Brands to be acquired by Intersnack Group in $2.9B transaction
• Positive Sentiment: The deal price of $14.25 per share implies substantial upside versus the prior trading level, which is supporting the stock’s jump. Utz Brands to go private in $2.9 billion acquisition by Intersnack Group (UTZ)
• Neutral Sentiment: Several firms, including Barclays, Stephens, and DA Davidson, downgraded the stock to more neutral ratings after the acquisition announcement, suggesting limited additional upside beyond the deal price. Tickerreport.com downgrade coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Law firms have announced investigations into whether the sale process and price were fair to public shareholders, which can create headline risk but does not change the announced deal terms. Shareholder Alert: The M&A Class Action Firm Announces An Investigation of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE: UTZ)

Utz Brands Company Profile

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.