Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys Shares of 225,059 Utz Brands, Inc. $UTZ

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Utz Brands, buying 225,059 shares valued at about $2.34 million.
• Institutional ownership in Utz remains very high at 95.97%, with several other major firms also adding to their positions in recent quarters.
• Utz Brands shares were down 3.9% to $7.47, even though the company recently beat quarterly EPS estimates and reaffirmed FY2026 guidance of 0.771 to 0.795 EPS.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 225,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,336,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned 0.16% of Utz Brands as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UTZ. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Utz Brands by 39.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 248,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,504,000 after purchasing an additional 70,739 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Utz Brands by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,470 shares of the company's stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,190 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Utz Brands by 40.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,022,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,480,000 after purchasing an additional 585,952 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Utz Brands by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 196,013 shares of the company's stock worth $2,760,000 after buying an additional 52,285 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Utz Brands by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 77,578 shares of the company's stock worth $974,000 after buying an additional 7,073 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.97% of the company's stock.

Utz Brands Trading Down 3.9%

NYSE:UTZ opened at $7.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.06. Utz Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.92 and a 12 month high of $14.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -74.69, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.87.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $361.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.16 EPS. Utz Brands's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Utz Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.771-0.795 EPS. Analysts expect that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Utz Brands Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Utz Brands in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $10.00 target price on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target 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. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $10.00 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Mizuho set a $14.00 price target on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Utz Brands currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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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