Public Sector Pension Investment Board Has $6.21 Million Holdings in Universal Corporation $UVV

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) by 31.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 111,080 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,801 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Universal were worth $6,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Navellier & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Universal by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 69,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,894,000 after acquiring an additional 2,841 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Universal by 11.5% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 117,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,581,000 after purchasing an additional 12,129 shares during the period. AdvisorShares Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Universal by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 6,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Universal by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 2,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Universal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $203,000. 81.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Universal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Zacks Research downgraded Universal from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Universal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Universal Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of UVV stock opened at $52.89 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.66. Universal Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.96 and a 1 year high of $67.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.01.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Universal had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The company had revenue of $861.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $927.20 million.

Universal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. Universal’s payout ratio is presently 96.76%.

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.