First Trust Advisors LP Increases Stock Position in Universal Corporation $UVV

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors increased its Universal Corporation stake by 35.5% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 353,655 shares valued at approximately $18.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own about 81% of UVV.
• Universal reported a quarterly loss of $0.46 per share, missing the $1.08 consensus estimate, while revenue of $715.2 million also fell short of expectations. Analysts maintain a “Reduce” consensus rating, with recent downgrades from Zacks Research and Weiss Ratings.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.83 per share, or $3.32 annually, representing a yield of approximately 6.1%; however, its dividend payout ratio is high at 257.36%.

First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV - Free Report) by 35.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 353,655 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 92,617 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 1.42% of Universal worth $18,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Universal by 75.2% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 466 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Universal by 5.1% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,152 shares of the company's stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Rexford Capital Inc. increased its stake in Universal by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. now owns 8,671 shares of the company's stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Universal by 67.1% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 518 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Universal by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,114 shares of the company's stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.00% of the company's stock.

Universal Stock Performance

NYSE:UVV opened at $54.86 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $52.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.38. Universal Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.19 and a 1-year high of $59.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.49 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.59.

Universal (NYSE:UVV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The company reported ($0.46) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($1.54). The firm had revenue of $715.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $728.20 million. Universal had a return on equity of 4.43% and a net margin of 1.12%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Universal Corporation will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Universal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. This is a positive change from Universal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 13th. Universal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 257.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert C. Sledd sold 2,845 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.12, for a total transaction of $153,971.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,959 shares of the company's stock, valued at $647,221.08. This represents a 19.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UVV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Universal from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut Universal from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce".

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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