Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Releases FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 0.771-0.795 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 0.880. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Utz Brands Price Performance

Utz Brands stock traded down $2.03 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $9.11. The company had a trading volume of 3,124,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,579,315. Utz Brands has a 12-month low of $8.95 and a 12-month high of $14.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 130.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.92. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.44.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. 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 the consensus estimate of $346.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Utz Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.771-0.795 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Utz Brands will post 0.85 EPS for the current year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.063 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Utz Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 357.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UTZ. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Utz Brands from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Utz Brands in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho set a $16.00 price objective on Utz Brands in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Bank of America lowered their target price on Utz Brands from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $15.00 price target on Utz Brands in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Utz Brands

In other news, Director Dylan Lissette purchased 7,010 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $9.99 per share, with a total value of $70,029.90. Following the acquisition, the director owned 160,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,605,333.06. This trade represents a 4.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Series R. Of Um Partners, Llc bought 12,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $9.60 per share, for a total transaction of $119,232.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 628,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,034,502.40. The trade was a 2.02% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought a total of 29,020 shares of company stock valued at $283,851 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 16.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Utz Brands by 42.3% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,946,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,979,000 after acquiring an additional 875,847 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,022,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,480,000 after purchasing an additional 585,952 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 39.7% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,702,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,687,000 after purchasing an additional 483,638 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Utz Brands by 7.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,085,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,370,000 after purchasing an additional 413,493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Utz Brands by 104.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 392,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,774,000 after buying an additional 200,674 shares in the last quarter. 95.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.