Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $14.19 and last traded at $14.1850, with a volume of 62197 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $14.25 target price on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $14.25 price target (down from $15.00) on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Utz Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Barclays lowered Utz Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $14.25 price target (up from $10.00) on shares of Utz Brands in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.39.

Utz Brands Trading Down 0.1%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $10.57 and a 200 day moving average of $8.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.85 and a beta of 0.74.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $371.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.18 million. Utz Brands had a positive return on equity of 8.97% and a negative net margin of 2.00%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Utz Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd were paid 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 of this dividend was Monday, June 22nd. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently -75.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Utz Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor bought a new stake in shares of Utz Brands in the 2nd quarter worth $14,462,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its position in Utz Brands by 105.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Utz Brands by 249.9% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,658,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,215,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,571 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 875,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted 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. 95.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.