Jennison Associates LLC Decreases Position in Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ)

Jennison Associates LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) by 29.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,155,625 shares of the company’s stock after selling 488,098 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.82% of Utz Brands worth $18,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 1,428.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 5,115 shares during the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Utz Brands in the 3rd quarter worth $136,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Utz Brands in the 3rd quarter worth $164,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in Utz Brands in the 4th quarter worth $167,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new position in Utz Brands in the 4th quarter worth $169,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

Utz Brands Price Performance

NYSE:UTZ opened at $18.74 on Friday. Utz Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.17 and a 12 month high of $19.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $18.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -60.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.97.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $352.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $354.63 million. Utz Brands had a positive return on equity of 6.08% and a negative net margin of 1.73%. Utz Brands’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $0.059 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This is a positive change from Utz Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio is -77.42%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Series U. Of Um Partners, Llc sold 446,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 397,885 shares in the company, valued at $6,923,199. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,516,652 shares in the company, valued at $67,168,053.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Series U. Of Um Partners, Llc sold 446,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.40, for a total value of $7,764,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 397,885 shares in the company, valued at $6,923,199. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 609,181 shares of company stock worth $10,754,925 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 17.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upgraded Utz Brands from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Utz Brands in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Utz Brands from $20.00 to $20.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Truist Financial increased their price target on Utz Brands from $13.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Utz Brands from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.63.

Utz Brands 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.