Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays

Barclays cut shares of Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $14.00 price objective on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Utz Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Utz Brands from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Utz Brands from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $15.00 target price on Utz Brands in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on Utz Brands in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $10.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Utz Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.39.

Utz Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UTZ opened at $14.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of -140.84, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $7.83 and a 200 day moving average of $8.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.14. Utz Brands has a one year low of $6.78 and a one year high of $14.53.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $361.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.76 million. Utz Brands had a negative net margin of 0.58% and a positive return on equity of 8.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. Utz Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.771-0.795 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Utz Brands will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Utz Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd were given a dividend of $0.063 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Utz Brands’s payout ratio is presently -250.00%.

Institutional Trading of Utz Brands

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UTZ. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Utz Brands by 39.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 248,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,504,000 after buying an additional 70,739 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,190 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 40.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,022,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,480,000 after acquiring an additional 585,952 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Utz Brands by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 196,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,760,000 after acquiring an additional 52,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Utz Brands by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 77,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $974,000 after acquiring an additional 7,073 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

Key Utz Brands News

Here are the key news stories impacting Utz Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Utz announced a take-private agreement with Intersnack at $14.25 per share, which lifted the stock sharply as investors priced in the acquisition premium. Utz Will Go Private in $2.9B Deal With Intersnack
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler reaffirmed a neutral rating but raised its price target to $14.25 from $10.00, effectively aligning its target with the deal price and reinforcing the transaction’s valuation. Piper Sandler rating update
• Neutral Sentiment: Several law firms announced investigations into whether the buyout price and process were fair to shareholders, which may add headline noise but does not change the announced terms. Kaskela Law Alert
• Neutral Sentiment: Other reports focused on the deal and cited UTZ’s move to go private, keeping attention on the acquisition rather than operations or earnings. Baltimore favorite Utz plans to go private in deal valued at nearly $3B
• Negative Sentiment: DA Davidson, Barclays, and Stephens all downgraded the stock or moved to a more cautious stance, suggesting less upside beyond the deal price and reflecting uncertainty around the transaction. Barclays Downgrades Utz Brands

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.