Universal (NYSE:UVV) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Universal (NYSE:UVV) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on UVV. Weiss Ratings lowered Universal from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Universal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Sell”.

Universal Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of Universal stock opened at $37.92 on Tuesday. Universal has a one year low of $37.38 and a one year high of $59.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $41.91 and its 200 day moving average is $49.75. The firm has a market cap of $945.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.08, a PEG ratio of 12.49 and a beta of 0.61.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.19). Universal had a positive return on equity of 1.88% and a negative net margin of 0.09%. The company had revenue of $621.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $630.10 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Universal will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Universal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Universal by 67.1% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Virginia Estate & Retirement Planning Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Universal by 507.5% during the third quarter. Virginia Estate & Retirement Planning Advisors Inc. now owns 1,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Universal by 42.5% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Universal by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Universal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $126,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

Universal News Summary

Investors following UVV have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Sidoti raised its estimates for Q1 2028 EPS from a loss of $0.02 to earnings of $0.04, Q2 2028 EPS from $0.94 to $0.98, and Q4 2027 EPS from $1.05 to $1.15. Universal Corporation analyst estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Sidoti lowered its FY2027 EPS forecast from $3.18 to $3.09 and FY2028 EPS from $3.95 to $3.51. It also reduced its Q3 2028 estimate from $1.87 to $1.66 and Q4 2028 estimate from $1.16 to $0.83, suggesting weaker earnings expectations overall. Universal Corporation analyst estimates

About Universal

Universal Corporation is a global agricultural products and services company best known for sourcing, processing and supplying leaf tobacco to manufacturers. Its services include managing tobacco supply chains, from crop purchasing and processing to logistics and related support for customers. The company also operates an Ingredients Operations business, which supplies products such as dehydrated fruits and vegetables, flavors, extracts and other plant-based ingredients for food and beverage customers.