Squarepoint Ops LLC Lowers Stake in Utz Brands, Inc. $UTZ

Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its position in Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) by 22.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 174,364 shares of the company’s stock after selling 49,354 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in Utz Brands were worth $2,188,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Utz Brands by 7.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,439,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,753,000 after acquiring an additional 501,374 shares during the period. Bryce Point Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Utz Brands during the second quarter worth about $737,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in shares of Utz Brands by 6.4% during the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 972,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,209,000 after purchasing an additional 58,542 shares in the last quarter. Astra Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Utz Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,155,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Utz Brands by 38.0% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,671,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,560,884 shares in the last quarter. 95.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Utz Brands

In related news, major shareholder Series R. Of Um Partners, Llc acquired 12,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $9.60 per share, with a total value of $119,232.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 628,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,034,502.40. This trade represents a 2.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Dylan Lissette bought 7,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $9.99 per share, with a total value of $70,029.90. Following the acquisition, the director owned 160,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,605,333.06. This trade represents a 4.56% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased a total of 92,313 shares of company stock worth $947,055 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 16.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UTZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Monday. Barclays reaffirmed 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 $13.50 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Mizuho set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Utz Brands from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Utz Brands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.93.

Utz Brands Price Performance

Utz Brands stock opened at $10.39 on Friday. Utz Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.19 and a 52-week high of $16.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $10.63 and its 200 day moving average is $12.28. The company has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 148.43, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.93.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23. The firm had revenue of $377.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.25 million. Utz Brands had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.21 EPS. Utz Brands has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.824-0.847 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.063 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This is an increase from Utz Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Utz Brands’s payout ratio is presently 357.14%.

About Utz Brands

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.