Versor Investments LP Purchases Shares of 4,055 Universal Corporation $UVV

Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 4,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Universal during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Universal by 63.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in Universal during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in shares of Universal during the first quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Universal in the second quarter worth $255,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on UVV shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Universal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Universal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Universal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Universal Price Performance

Universal stock opened at $54.95 on Friday. Universal Corporation has a 52-week low of $49.40 and a 52-week high of $67.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $54.18 and its 200 day moving average is $56.14. The company has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37, a PEG ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.73.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.18. Universal had a net margin of 3.51% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The business had revenue of $754.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $704.30 million.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. Universal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.81%.

Insider Transactions at Universal

In other news, Director Robert C. Sledd sold 4,617 shares of Universal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.25, for a total value of $245,855.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,698 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,918.50. The trade was a 22.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lennart R. Freeman sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.89, for a total value of $148,092.00. Following the sale, the director owned 19,669 shares in the company, valued at $1,040,293.41. The trade was a 12.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,417 shares of company stock worth $943,347. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Universal Company Profile

Universal Corporation processes and supplies leaf tobacco and plant-based ingredients worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Tobacco Operations; and Ingredients Operations. It is involved in the procuring, financing, processing, packing, storing, and shipping leaf tobacco for sale to manufacturers of consumer tobacco products.