Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Buys 95,733 Shares of Utz Brands, Inc. $UTZ

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) by 560.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,811 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 95,733 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.08% of Utz Brands worth $1,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UTZ. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Utz Brands by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,085,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,370,000 after buying an additional 413,493 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Utz Brands by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 3,131,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,043,000 after acquiring an additional 304,163 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Utz Brands by 42.3% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,946,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,979,000 after acquiring an additional 875,847 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Utz Brands by 40.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,022,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,480,000 after purchasing an additional 585,952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Utz Brands by 31.8% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,004,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,159,000 after purchasing an additional 483,906 shares during the last quarter. 95.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Howard A. Friedman acquired 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.58 per share, for a total transaction of $76,176.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 66,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $701,432.84. The trade was a 12.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Dylan Lissette acquired 7,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.99 per share, for a total transaction of $70,029.90. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 160,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,605,333.06. This trade represents a 4.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 92,313 shares of company stock valued at $947,055. Company insiders own 16.32% of the company’s stock.

Utz Brands Trading Up 2.4%

UTZ opened at $10.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Utz Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.15 and a fifty-two week high of $14.67. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $10.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 150.86, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.90.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Utz Brands had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The firm had revenue of $377.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.063 dividend. This is a boost from Utz Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 357.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on UTZ shares. DA Davidson set a $15.00 price target on Utz Brands in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Zacks Research cut Utz Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $11.50 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Utz Brands from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.38.

Utz Brands Company Profile

Utz Brands, Inc is a leading U.S. manufacturer and distributor of salty snack foods, offering a wide range of products including potato chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, popcorn and tortilla chips. Headquartered in Hanover, Pennsylvania, the company markets its snacks under several well-known brands and serves grocery, mass merchandise, club, convenience and online retailers throughout the United States.

Founded in 1921 by Bill and Salie Utz as a small country store operation, the business expanded gradually through direct delivery to local customers and sales to regional grocers.