Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) Shareholders to Get $0.83 Quarterly Dividend

Key Points

• Universal declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, payable February 1 to shareholders of record January 11. That equals $3.32 annualized and an indicated yield of 8.4%.
• The company reported quarterly earnings per share of $0.39, below the $0.58 analyst consensus, while revenue of $621.85 million also fell short of estimates. EPS was down from $1.36 in the year-earlier quarter.
• Universal shares opened at $39.63, near the stock’s 12-month low of $38.11 and below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share on Monday, February 1st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 11th.

Universal Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Universal stock opened at $39.63 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.13. The company has a market capitalization of $986.91 million, a P/E ratio of 51.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Universal has a 12-month low of $38.11 and a 12-month high of $59.38.

Universal (NYSE:UVV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.19). Universal had a net margin of 0.67% and a return on equity of 3.50%. The firm had revenue of $621.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $630.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Universal will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal

In related news, Director Lennart Freeman sold 1,782 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.82, for a total transaction of $88,779.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,935 shares in the company, valued at $843,701.70. This represents a 9.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Universal by 35.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 353,655 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,638,000 after acquiring an additional 92,617 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Universal during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,220,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Universal by 65.0% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 165,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,916,000 after buying an additional 65,178 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Universal by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 188,081 shares of the company's stock worth $7,860,000 after purchasing an additional 58,022 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Universal in the third quarter worth approximately $679,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.00% of the company's stock.

About Universal

Universal Corporation NYSE: UVV is a global agricultural products company primarily engaged in the procurement, processing and sale of leaf tobacco. Through its tobacco operations, the company purchases tobacco from growers, processes and stores the leaf, and supplies it to manufacturers of cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco and other tobacco products.

Universal handles several types of tobacco, including flue-cured, burley, dark air-cured and oriental varieties, as well as other specialty leaf products.

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