Universal (NYSE:UVV) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Universal (NYSE:UVV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on UVV. Weiss Ratings cut Universal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Universal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Universal presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Universal Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Universal stock opened at $53.44 on Friday. Universal has a fifty-two week low of $49.96 and a fifty-two week high of $67.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average of $54.34 and a 200 day moving average of $54.02.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.92 by ($0.57). The business had revenue of $861.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $927.20 million. Universal had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 6.49%.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. Universal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Universal by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,983,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,402,000 after purchasing an additional 35,513 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Universal by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,378,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,272,000 after purchasing an additional 21,763 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Universal by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 815,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,579,000 after purchasing an additional 142,439 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Universal by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 624,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,943,000 after buying an additional 5,844 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Universal by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 610,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,205,000 after buying an additional 31,961 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

Universal Company Profile

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.