Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $585,000 Investment in Universal Corporation $UVV

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 11,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $585,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Universal by 75.2% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its stake in Universal by 1,634.4% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 555 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Universal during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Universal by 265.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Universal in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UVV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Universal from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings lowered Universal from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert C. Sledd sold 2,845 shares of Universal 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 directly owned 11,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $647,221.08. The trade was a 19.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Universal Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE UVV opened at $51.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $53.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 3.49. Universal Corporation has a 52-week low of $49.19 and a 52-week high of $59.38.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($1.54). The company had revenue of $715.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $728.20 million. Universal had a net margin of 1.12% and a return on equity of 4.43%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Universal Corporation will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Universal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 13th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. This is a positive change from Universal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 13th. Universal’s dividend payout ratio is 254.26%.

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.