Barclays PLC Purchases 521,724 Shares of Universal Corporation $UVV

Key Points

• Barclays PLC raised its stake in Universal by 917.9% in the third quarter, buying 521,724 shares to own 578,564 shares (about 2.32%) valued at roughly $32.3 million.
• Universal missed quarterly expectations, reporting $1.35 EPS vs. $1.92 expected and revenue of $861.3M vs. $927.2M, but declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 ($3.28 annual) — a yield of about 6.3% with a payout ratio near 96.8%.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: recent downgrades from Zacks and Wall Street Zen were offset by an upgrade from Weiss, leaving the stock with an average rating of "Hold" (one Buy and one Sell on record).

Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV - Free Report) by 917.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 578,564 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 521,724 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 2.32% of Universal worth $32,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Universal by 1,662.1% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 89,569 shares of the company's stock worth $5,004,000 after purchasing an additional 84,486 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in Universal by 2,108.2% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 6,470 shares of the company's stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 6,177 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Universal by 306.2% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 84,568 shares of the company's stock worth $4,725,000 after buying an additional 63,749 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC raised its position in Universal by 5.7% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 11,705 shares of the company's stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the period. Finally, AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in Universal in the third quarter valued at about $223,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UVV has been the subject of several research reports. Zacks Research lowered Universal from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Universal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Universal from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold".

Universal Price Performance

Shares of Universal stock opened at $52.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average of $54.23 and a 200-day moving average of $53.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.91. Universal Corporation has a 52-week low of $49.96 and a 52-week high of $67.33.

Universal (NYSE:UVV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.92 by ($0.57). Universal had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The firm had revenue of $861.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $927.20 million.

Universal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. Universal's dividend payout ratio is presently 96.76%.

Universal Company Profile

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.

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