Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong Sell”

Zacks Research lowered shares of Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho set a $16.00 target price on Utz Brands in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Utz Brands from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Utz Brands from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.38.

Utz Brands Stock Down 0.2%

Utz Brands stock opened at $10.41 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 148.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.86. Utz Brands has a 12 month low of $9.15 and a 12 month high of $14.67.

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

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.063 dividend. This is a positive change from Utz Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 357.14%.

Insider Transactions at Utz Brands

In other Utz Brands news, Director Dylan Lissette acquired 7,010 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.99 per share, for a total transaction of $70,029.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 160,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,605,333.06. The trade was a 4.56% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Howard A. Friedman bought 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $10.58 per share, with a total value of $76,176.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 66,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $701,432.84. The trade was a 12.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought 92,313 shares of company stock worth $947,055 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 16.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Utz Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UTZ. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Utz Brands by 39.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 248,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,504,000 after buying an additional 70,739 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,190 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Utz Brands by 40.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,022,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,480,000 after purchasing an additional 585,952 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Utz Brands by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 196,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,760,000 after purchasing an additional 52,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Utz Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $169,000. 95.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.