Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases New Shares in Universal Corporation $UVV

Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 80,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,220,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Universal by 18.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 24,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,345,000 after buying an additional 3,795 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Universal by 8.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 24,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,976 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal by 24.5% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 36,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,071,000 after acquiring an additional 7,261 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,927,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Universal by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 24,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,349,000 after purchasing an additional 4,124 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert C. Sledd sold 2,845 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.12, for a total value of $153,971.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,959 shares in the company, valued at approximately $647,221.08. This represents a 19.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Universal from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded Universal from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Universal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Universal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UVV opened at $50.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.60. Universal Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.19 and a 1 year high of $59.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.26.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.43). Universal had a net margin of 0.67% and a return on equity of 3.50%. The firm had revenue of $523.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $587.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Universal Corporation will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, October 12th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. Universal’s payout ratio is presently 431.17%.

Universal Profile

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.