Universal (NYSE:UVV) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $39.42 and last traded at $39.4670, with a volume of 380,904 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UVV. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Universal from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Universal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 5th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Universal from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Universal Stock Down 3.0%

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 $43.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $982.73 million, a P/E ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 0.58.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.43). Universal had a return on equity of 3.50% and a net margin of 0.67%. The business had revenue of $523.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.00 million. On average, analysts predict that Universal Corporation will post 3.18 earnings per share 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 given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Universal’s payout ratio is currently 431.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lennart Freeman sold 1,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.82, for a total transaction of $88,779.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,935 shares in the company, valued at $843,701.70. The trade was a 9.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Universal during the 3rd quarter valued at $679,000. Virginia Estate & Retirement Planning Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Universal by 507.5% in the 3rd quarter. Virginia Estate & Retirement Planning Advisors Inc. now owns 1,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Universal by 84.2% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 3,353 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its position in Universal by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 25,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 2,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adams Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in Universal by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Adams Asset Advisors LLC now owns 134,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080 shares during the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Universal

Universal Corporation (NYSE: UVV) is a global leaf tobacco supplier and processor. Through its operating companies, the company purchases tobacco from growers, processes and blends leaf, and supplies tobacco products and related materials to manufacturers of cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco and other tobacco products. Its services include crop contracting, agricultural support, curing, processing, storage, packaging and logistics.

Founded in 1918 and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, Universal has developed an international network of tobacco sourcing, processing and distribution operations.