Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Issues Earnings Results

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.01, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $371.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $374.18 million. Utz Brands had a positive return on equity of 8.61% and a negative net margin of 0.58%.Utz Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share.

Utz Brands Trading Down 0.0%

UTZ traded down $0.00 on Wednesday, hitting $14.11. The company had a trading volume of 963,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,541,074. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Utz Brands has a 12-month low of $6.78 and a 12-month high of $14.19. The company has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of -141.04 and a beta of 0.74.

Utz Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd were given a $0.063 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -250.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Utz Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Utz Brands by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,085,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,370,000 after buying an additional 413,493 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Utz Brands by 42.3% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,946,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,979,000 after buying an additional 875,847 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in Utz Brands by 105.2% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,414,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,066,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,180 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 0.5% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,022,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,576,000 after acquiring an additional 9,672 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 40.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,022,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,480,000 after acquiring an additional 585,952 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on UTZ shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $14.25 price objective (up from $10.00) on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded 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 report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Utz Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $14.25 target price on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Utz Brands from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.39.

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.