Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Stock Price Breaks Below 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ)’s share price crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $14.26 and traded as low as $14.24. Utz Brands shares last traded at $14.25, with a volume of 2,727,897 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UTZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $14.25 price objective on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays cut Utz Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Utz Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $14.25 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen cut Utz Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Stephens set a $14.25 price target on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Utz Brands has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.39.

Utz Brands Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.18 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company’s 50-day moving average is $14.26 and its 200-day moving average is $10.41.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.01. Utz Brands had a positive return on equity of 8.97% and a negative net margin of 2.00%. The company had revenue of $371.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.18 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Utz Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a $0.0630 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Utz Brands’s payout ratio is currently -75.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor bought a new position in shares of Utz Brands in the second quarter valued at approximately $14,462,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its position in Utz Brands by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 4,063,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,183,000 after acquiring an additional 613,699 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its position in Utz Brands by 195.5% during the 1st quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 849,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,728,000 after acquiring an additional 561,961 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Utz Brands by 61.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 937,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,421,000 after purchasing an additional 356,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Utz Brands by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,998,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,824,000 after purchasing an additional 355,460 shares in the last quarter. 95.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Utz Brands Company Profile

Utz Brands, Inc is a U.S.-based snack food company that manufactures, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of branded salty snacks. Its products include potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, pork rinds, popcorn and other snack items sold through grocery stores, mass merchants, club stores, convenience stores and e-commerce channels.

The company’s brand portfolio includes Utz, Zapp’s, Boulder Canyon, On the Border, Golden Flake, Good Health and Hawaiian, among others.