Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Sets New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $13.37 and last traded at $13.94, with a volume of 1296538 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UTZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Utz Brands from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Utz Brands from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Utz Brands from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.80.

Utz Brands Trading Up 1.8 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $16.30 and a 200-day moving average of $16.59. The company has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of -72.89, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $365.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.98 million. Utz Brands had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 7.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.061 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. This is a boost from Utz Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio is -126.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Cc Collier Holdings, Llc sold 2,815,404 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.29, for a total value of $48,678,335.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 496,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,576,497.02. The trade was a 85.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Cary Devore sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.32, for a total value of $519,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 451,117 shares in the company, valued at $7,813,346.44. This trade represents a 6.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 17.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Utz Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Utz Brands in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $80,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Utz Brands in the 3rd quarter worth $142,000. Moody National Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Utz Brands during the 4th quarter worth $169,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Utz Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at about $185,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Utz Brands in the second quarter valued at about $187,000. 95.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Utz Brands

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.