Universal (NYSE:UVV) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Universal (NYSE:UVV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on UVV. Weiss Ratings downgraded Universal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Universal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Universal Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE UVV opened at $53.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.66. Universal has a 12-month low of $49.96 and a 12-month high of $67.33. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.92 by ($0.57). The company had revenue of $861.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $927.20 million. Universal had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 6.49%.

Universal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. Universal’s dividend payout ratio is 96.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UVV. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Universal during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Universal by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 18,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Universal by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 261,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,770,000 after purchasing an additional 30,058 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in Universal by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 49,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,598,000 after purchasing an additional 11,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Universal during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Universal

Here are the key news stories impacting Universal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sidoti raised its Q1 2027 EPS view to $0.34 (from $0.30) — a modest near-term improvement in Street expectations that could support the next quarterly print.
• Positive Sentiment: Sidoti nudged its Q4 2026 estimate to $1.08 (from $1.07), a slight upgrade to the near-term outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: EU antitrust clearance of Universal Music Group’s takeover of Downtown was announced — this concerns Universal Music Group (UMG), not Universal Corporation (UVV), and is not directly material to UVV’s business. EU clears Universal Music takeover of Downtown
• Neutral Sentiment: News about a debt settlement at Universal Digital Inc. (ticker LFG/LFGMF) is unrelated to UVV and should not affect UVV’s fundamentals. Universal Digital Inc. Announces Debt Settlement
• Negative Sentiment: Q3 results missed expectations materially: EPS $1.35 vs. $1.92 consensus and revenue $861.3M vs. $927.2M. Management affirmed the dividend despite the miss — investors likely interpreted the combination as signaling near-term earnings weakness, triggering the sharp share decline. Universal (UVV) Is Down 10.1% After Weaker Q3 Results and Affirmed Dividend – What’s Changed
• Negative Sentiment: Sidoti’s revisions include cuts to FY2027 (from $4.61 to $4.40) and lower Q2–Q3–Q4 2027 quarter forecasts versus prior views — these downward revisions reduce forward earnings expectations and add pressure to the stock until management provides clearer recovery signals.

Universal Company 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.