Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.63.

A number of research firms have commented on UTZ. Mizuho upped their price target on Utz Brands from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Utz Brands from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Bank of America raised Utz Brands from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Utz Brands from $20.00 to $20.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on Utz Brands in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Activity at Utz Brands

In related news, Director Roger K. Deromedi sold 3,785 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.13, for a total value of $72,407.05. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,399,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,031,861.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Utz Brands news, major shareholder Series U. Of Um Partners, Llc sold 446,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.40, for a total transaction of $7,764,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 397,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,923,199. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Roger K. Deromedi sold 3,785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.13, for a total value of $72,407.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,399,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,031,861.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 609,181 shares of company stock valued at $10,754,925 over the last quarter. 17.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Utz Brands

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UTZ. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 120.2% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,891 shares during the last quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN boosted its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 1,428.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 5,115 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Utz Brands during the third quarter worth about $136,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

Utz Brands Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE:UTZ opened at $18.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $18.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.85. Utz Brands has a 52 week low of $11.17 and a 52 week high of $19.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -58.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.97.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.01). Utz Brands had a positive return on equity of 6.08% and a negative net margin of 1.73%. The firm had revenue of $352.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $354.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Utz Brands will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.059 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This is a positive change from Utz Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio is -77.42%.

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.