UBS Group AG Raises Position in Universal Corporation $UVV

UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) by 98.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 312,787 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 155,244 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned approximately 1.26% of Universal worth $16,500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Universal by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,983,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,402,000 after buying an additional 35,513 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Universal by 135.8% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 5,340 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Universal by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Universal by 75.2% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Universal by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 37,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,956,000 after buying an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Universal from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of Universal from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Universal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Universal Trading Up 0.2%

UVV opened at $53.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.91 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.31. Universal Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.96 and a 1-year high of $67.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.61.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by ($0.57). The business had revenue of $861.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $927.20 million. Universal had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 2.93%. Analysts expect that Universal Corporation will post 4.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Company Profile

Universal Corporation (NYSE: UVV) is a global agribusiness company primarily engaged in the procurement, processing and sale of leaf tobacco. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company sources cured leaf tobacco from key growing regions in North and South America, Africa and Asia. Universal serves major multinational tobacco manufacturers by providing a full range of services including inventory management, quality control and logistics support to ensure a consistent and reliable supply of tobacco leaf.

In addition to its core leaf tobacco operations, Universal offers integrated supply-chain services that encompass warehousing, distribution and ingredient sourcing for smokeless and novel tobacco products.