Universal (NYSE:UVV) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Universal (NYSE:UVV) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on UVV. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Universal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Universal from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Universal Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE UVV opened at $52.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.49 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.49. Universal has a 12 month low of $49.19 and a 12 month high of $61.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.03, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.59.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The company reported ($0.46) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($1.54). Universal had a return on equity of 4.43% and a net margin of 1.12%.The business had revenue of $715.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $728.20 million. Equities research analysts expect that Universal will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Universal in the third quarter worth approximately $1,351,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Universal by 306.2% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 84,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,725,000 after acquiring an additional 63,749 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Universal by 917.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 578,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,324,000 after acquiring an additional 521,724 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Universal by 31.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 111,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,206,000 after acquiring an additional 26,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Universal by 130.7% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,267,000 after acquiring an additional 13,608 shares in the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Universal News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Universal this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Universal Corporation will hold a virtual 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders on June 18. This is a routine corporate update with limited immediate impact on the stock. Universal Display Corporation to Hold Virtual 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders
• Negative Sentiment: Sidoti lowered Universal’s FY2027 EPS estimate to $4.30 from $4.40, signaling less optimistic profit expectations for the tobacco company. Universal Corporation analyst estimate updates
• Negative Sentiment: The firm also cut FY2028 EPS to $4.38 from $4.61 and trimmed several quarterly forecasts, including Q1 2027, Q2 2027, Q4 2027, and Q2 2028, reinforcing concerns about near-term earnings momentum. Universal Corporation analyst estimate updates
• Negative Sentiment: Seeking Alpha published a downgrade to Hold, citing persistent tobacco oversupply, margin compression, and questions about dividend safety due to tight free cash flow coverage. Universal Corp: The Three Reasons Why I Am Downgrading To Hold

About Universal

Universal Corporation (NYSE: UVV) is a global agribusiness company primarily engaged in the procurement, processing and sale of leaf tobacco. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company sources cured leaf tobacco from key growing regions in North and South America, Africa and Asia. Universal serves major multinational tobacco manufacturers by providing a full range of services including inventory management, quality control and logistics support to ensure a consistent and reliable supply of tobacco leaf.

In addition to its core leaf tobacco operations, Universal offers integrated supply-chain services that encompass warehousing, distribution and ingredient sourcing for smokeless and novel tobacco products.