Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Sets New 52-Week High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $19.70 and last traded at $19.19, with a volume of 439213 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.13.

The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.01. Utz Brands had a negative net margin of 1.38% and a positive return on equity of 6.13%. The firm had revenue of $346.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $346.99 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were given a $0.059 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This is a boost from Utz Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Utz Brands’s payout ratio is presently -96.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UTZ. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. DA Davidson started coverage on Utz Brands in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Utz Brands from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $20.50 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Utz Brands from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.83.

Insider Activity at Utz Brands

In other Utz Brands news, Director Roger K. Deromedi sold 32,052 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.10, for a total value of $612,193.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,516,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,168,053.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Roger K. Deromedi sold 32,052 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.10, for a total value of $612,193.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,516,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,168,053.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Series U. Of Um Partners, Llc sold 446,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.40, for a total value of $7,764,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 397,885 shares in the company, valued at $6,923,199. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 609,181 shares of company stock valued at $10,754,925. Corporate insiders own 17.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Utz Brands

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UTZ. Gratus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Utz Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,468,000. Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Utz Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $7,302,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 72.0% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 710,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,000 after acquiring an additional 297,395 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Utz Brands by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,212,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,691,000 after acquiring an additional 250,557 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Utz Brands by 96.5% during the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 409,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,493,000 after buying an additional 200,850 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

Utz Brands Trading Down 1.6 %

The company has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company’s 50-day moving average is $18.01 and its 200 day moving average is $16.16.

Utz Brands Company Profile

Utz Brands, Inc engages in manufacture, marketing, and distribution of snack foods. It offers a range of salty snacks, including salty snacks, including potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, pork skins, veggie snacks, pub/party mixes, tortilla chips, salsa and dips, ready-to-eat popcorn, and other snacks under the Utz, Zapp's, ON THE BORDER, Golden Flake, Boulder Canyon, Hawaiian, TORTIYAHS!, etc.