First Eagle Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Utz Brands, Inc. $UTZ

Key Points

• First Eagle Investment Management boosted its stake in Utz Brands by 22.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 160,720 more shares and bringing its total holding to 886,250 shares worth about $9.2 million.
• Utz Brands shares were up 2.6% to $7.40, but the stock remains well below its 12-month high of $14.67 and trades near its low of $7.11.
• The company recently beat quarterly EPS estimates by a penny and posted 2.6% revenue growth year over year, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $12.06.

First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ - Free Report) by 22.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 886,250 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 160,720 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned 0.62% of Utz Brands worth $9,199,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTZ. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Utz Brands by 0.8% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 140,831 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,711,000 after buying an additional 1,075 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Utz Brands by 1.0% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 109,921 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,380,000 after buying an additional 1,137 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Utz Brands by 76.1% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 3,756 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,623 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its position in shares of Utz Brands by 194.8% in the third quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 2,618 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Utz Brands by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 17,986 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 1,748 shares during the last quarter. 95.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Utz Brands Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of UTZ opened at $7.40 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Utz Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.11 and a 12-month high of $14.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $7.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -73.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.87.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. Utz Brands had a negative net margin of 0.58% and a positive return on equity of 8.61%. The firm had revenue of $361.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.77 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.16 earnings per share. Utz Brands's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Utz Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.771-0.795 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Utz Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 13th were paid a dividend of $0.063 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 13th. Utz Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -250.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on UTZ shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Utz Brands from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Utz Brands from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Mizuho set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Monday, February 23rd. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Utz Brands from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $10.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.06.

Utz Brands Profile

Utz Brands, Inc is a leading U.S. manufacturer and distributor of salty snack foods, offering a wide range of products including potato chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, popcorn and tortilla chips. Headquartered in Hanover, Pennsylvania, the company markets its snacks under several well-known brands and serves grocery, mass merchandise, club, convenience and online retailers throughout the United States.

Founded in 1921 by Bill and Salie Utz as a small country store operation, the business expanded gradually through direct delivery to local customers and sales to regional grocers.

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