Utz Brands’ (UTZ) “Neutral” Rating Reiterated at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler restated their neutral rating on shares of Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a $14.25 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $10.00.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on UTZ. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $15.00 price target on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $14.25 price objective on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Utz Brands from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Stephens set a $14.25 target price on Utz Brands in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays lowered Utz Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Utz Brands presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.39.

Utz Brands Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Utz Brands stock opened at $14.10 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -140.94, a P/E/G ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 0.82. Utz Brands has a 52-week low of $6.78 and a 52-week high of $14.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.47.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $361.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.76 million. Utz Brands had a negative net margin of 0.58% and a positive return on equity of 8.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.16 earnings per share. Utz Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.771-0.795 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Utz Brands will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Utz Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd were given a $0.063 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 22nd. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -250.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Utz Brands

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UTZ. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in Utz Brands by 105.2% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,414,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,066,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,180 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Utz Brands by 249.9% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,658,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,571 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Utz Brands by 42.3% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,946,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,979,000 after purchasing an additional 875,847 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in shares of Utz Brands by 261.5% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 994,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,322,000 after purchasing an additional 719,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Utz Brands by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 4,063,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,183,000 after purchasing an additional 613,699 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

More Utz Brands News

Here are the key news stories impacting Utz Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target to $14.25, implying the stock is trading near the proposed buyout value and suggesting limited additional downside from current levels.
• Neutral Sentiment: Utz announced it will go private in a $2.9 billion transaction with Intersnack Group, giving the buyer a major U.S. snacking foothold and effectively setting a deal price ceiling for the shares.
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms are investigating the merger, with Brodsky & Smith, Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, and Kaskela Law all questioning whether the $14.25 offer undervalues Utz Brands shareholders. Article: Brodsky & Smith Shareholder Update
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler downgraded Utz Brands from strong-buy to hold, while DA Davidson cut its rating from buy to hold and Barclays and Stephens both downgraded the stock to equal weight, reflecting more cautious views after the deal announcement.

About Utz Brands

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.