Universal (NYSE:UVV) Reaches New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $48.50 and last traded at $48.0490, with a volume of 72396 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $50.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UVV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut Universal from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded Universal from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Universal has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Universal Trading Down 6.1%

The firm has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 61.96, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $52.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.26.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.43). The business had revenue of $523.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $587.00 million. Universal had a return on equity of 3.50% and a net margin of 0.67%. Analysts forecast that Universal Corporation will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 12th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Universal’s dividend payout ratio is 431.17%.

Insider Activity at Universal

In other news, Director Robert C. Sledd sold 2,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.12, for a total transaction of $153,971.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $647,221.08. This trade represents a 19.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Universal by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,983,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,402,000 after buying an additional 35,513 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Universal by 1.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,378,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,272,000 after acquiring an additional 21,763 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Universal by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 853,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,034,000 after acquiring an additional 37,921 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Universal by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 624,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,943,000 after acquiring an additional 5,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Universal by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 610,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,205,000 after purchasing an additional 31,961 shares in the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.