Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Posts Earnings Results, Meets Estimates

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) released its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.26, FiscalAI reports. Utz Brands had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The business had revenue of $342.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $346.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Utz Brands updated its FY 2026 guidance to 0.771-0.795 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Utz Brands’ conference call:

• Company reiterated confidence in its 2026 commercial plan and guided to roughly 200–300 basis points of organic growth (midpoint ~2.5%), assuming a flat category while keeping flexibility for a dynamic market.
• Midpoint EBITDA expansion is modest at about 40–50 basis points, with a $4–6M California startup spend and possible inflation/reinvestment headwinds limiting margin upside versus prior expectations.
• Management expects positive distribution gains, with shelving in California starting imminently and innovations (protein pretzels, new Boulder Canyon SKUs) launching in Q2 to drive household acquisition and volume.
• Balance sheet focus remains intact—finished 2025 at 3.4x leverage, targeting 3.0–3.2x in 2026, plans to delever ~0.3–0.4x per year and pursue a long-term free cash flow goal of ~$100M toward a 2.5–3.0x target.

Utz Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UTZ traded down $1.89 during trading on Thursday, reaching $9.25. The stock had a trading volume of 2,786,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,572,664. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 131.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $10.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.44. Utz Brands has a 52 week low of $8.95 and a 52 week high of $14.67.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.063 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This is a positive change from Utz Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 357.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson set a $15.00 price objective on Utz Brands in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Utz Brands from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group reduced their target price on Utz Brands from $11.50 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Utz Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.38.

Insider Transactions at Utz Brands

In related news, major shareholder Series R. Of Um Partners, Llc acquired 12,420 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $9.60 per share, for a total transaction of $119,232.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 628,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,034,502.40. The trade was a 2.02% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Dylan Lissette acquired 7,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $9.99 per share, with a total value of $70,029.90. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 160,694 shares in the company, valued at $1,605,333.06. The trade was a 4.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 29,020 shares of company stock worth $283,851. Insiders own 16.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UTZ. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Utz Brands by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 144,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,501,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Utz Brands by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 58,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 2,354 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 100,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,040,000 after acquiring an additional 10,902 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Utz Brands by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,750,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,169,000 after acquiring an additional 475,628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Utz Brands by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 71,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 7,151 shares during the period. 95.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Utz Brands

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.