Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) Shares Purchased by Alyeska Investment Group L.P.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its stake in Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ - Free Report) by 157.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 612,441 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 375,000 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned approximately 0.43% of Utz Brands worth $9,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,923,292 shares of the company's stock worth $124,079,000 after buying an additional 1,025,656 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Utz Brands by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,208,402 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,564,000 after buying an additional 620,196 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Utz Brands by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 3,117,478 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,820,000 after acquiring an additional 59,429 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,561,986 shares of the company's stock worth $24,467,000 after acquiring an additional 13,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,510,472 shares of the company's stock worth $23,654,000 after acquiring an additional 36,425 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Utz Brands

In other news, Director William Jr. Werzyn acquired 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.81 per share, for a total transaction of $94,480.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,970 shares in the company, valued at $271,275.70. This trade represents a 53.44 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Brown bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.96 per share, with a total value of $59,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 67,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $808,173.08. This trade represents a 7.99 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 17,920 shares of company stock worth $224,156. 16.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Utz Brands Trading Up 1.0 %

UTZ stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $12.47. The stock had a trading volume of 1,595,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 908,064. The company's 50-day moving average price is $13.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a PE ratio of 69.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.20. Utz Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.53 and a 12-month high of $18.89.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16. Utz Brands had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 1.13%. The business had revenue of $352.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.44 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Utz Brands Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th were given a $0.011 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 7th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Utz Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 75.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UTZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on Utz Brands from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Utz Brands from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Utz Brands from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered Utz Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.81.

Utz Brands Company Profile

Utz Brands, Inc engages in manufacture, marketing, and distribution of snack foods. It offers a range of salty snacks, including salty snacks, including potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, pork skins, veggie snacks, pub/party mixes, tortilla chips, salsa and dips, ready-to-eat popcorn, and other snacks under the Utz, Zapp's, ON THE BORDER, Golden Flake, Boulder Canyon, Hawaiian, TORTIYAHS!, etc.