Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Hits New 12-Month High After Earnings Beat

Shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $19.70 and last traded at $19.19, with a volume of 439213 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.13.

The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.01. Utz Brands had a positive return on equity of 6.13% and a negative net margin of 1.38%. The company had revenue of $346.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $346.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were given a $0.059 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This is an increase from Utz Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -96.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UTZ. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Utz Brands from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Stephens lifted their target price on Utz Brands from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America upgraded shares of Utz Brands from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Utz Brands in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.83.

Insider Activity

In other Utz Brands news, Director Roger K. Deromedi sold 13,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.03, for a total transaction of $255,877.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,548,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,531,837.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Utz Brands news, Director Roger K. Deromedi sold 13,446 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.03, for a total value of $255,877.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,548,704 shares in the company, valued at $67,531,837.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Chinh Chu sold 92,226 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.80, for a total value of $1,641,622.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,556,154 shares in the company, valued at $63,299,541.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 609,181 shares of company stock worth $10,754,925. Insiders own 17.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Utz Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Gratus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Utz Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,468,000. Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Utz Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $7,302,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Utz Brands by 72.0% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 710,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,538,000 after purchasing an additional 297,395 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Utz Brands by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,212,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,691,000 after purchasing an additional 250,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 96.5% during the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 409,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,493,000 after purchasing an additional 200,850 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

Utz Brands Stock Down 1.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $18.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.16. The company has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -76.96, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.97.

Utz Brands Company Profile

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.