Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Sells 49,832 Shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. trimmed its stake in shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ - Free Report) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 759,729 shares of the company's stock after selling 49,832 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned 0.54% of Utz Brands worth $11,897,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UTZ. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of Utz Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $196,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Utz Brands by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,110,873 shares of the company's stock worth $64,376,000 after purchasing an additional 698,589 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 157.9% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 612,441 shares of the company's stock worth $9,591,000 after buying an additional 375,000 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Utz Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $183,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Utz Brands by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 983,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,404,000 after buying an additional 55,513 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.97% of the company's stock.

Utz Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UTZ traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $12.47. 1,595,765 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 909,097. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization 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. The company's 50 day moving average price is $13.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.66.

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

Utz Brands Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Utz Brands

In related news, Director William Jr. Werzyn acquired 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.81 per share, for a total transaction of $94,480.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 22,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $271,275.70. The trade was a 53.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cc Collier Holdings, Llc sold 496,038 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.40, for a total value of $6,646,909.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 17,920 shares of company stock worth $224,156. Company insiders own 16.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson upgraded Utz Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Utz Brands from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on 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 lowered their target price on 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 cut shares of Utz Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.81.

Utz Brands 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.