Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) Shares Acquired by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,520,759 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,364 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 1.08% of Utz Brands worth $21,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in Utz Brands by 44.8% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 7,887 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,441 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Utz Brands by 112.7% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,697 shares of the company's stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 4,078 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Utz Brands in the first quarter worth $144,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Utz Brands by 38.9% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 12,904 shares of the company's stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 3,616 shares during the period. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Utz Brands during the fourth quarter valued at $183,000. 95.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Utz Brands Trading Down 0.4%

UTZ traded down $0.06 during trading on Thursday, hitting $14.44. 798,399 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,142,926. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.42. The firm has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.14. Utz Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.53 and a 1 year high of $18.89.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.16. Utz Brands had a return on equity of 8.05% and a net margin of 1.94%. The firm had revenue of $352.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.85 EPS for the current year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.061 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. This is a positive change from Utz Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. Utz Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 75.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 27th. DA Davidson upgraded Utz Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. TD Cowen downgraded Utz Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $15.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Utz Brands from $13.50 to $15.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William Jr. Werzyn bought 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.81 per share, for a total transaction of $94,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 22,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $271,275.70. This trade represents a 53.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Brown bought 5,000 shares of Utz Brands stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.96 per share, with a total value of $59,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 67,573 shares of the company's stock, valued at $808,173.08. This represents a 7.99% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 16.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Utz Brands

Utz Brands, Inc engages in manufacture, marketing, and distribution of snack foods. It offers a range of salty snacks, including salty snacks, including potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, pork skins, veggie snacks, pub/party mixes, tortilla chips, salsa and dips, ready-to-eat popcorn, and other snacks under the Utz, Zapp's, ON THE BORDER, Golden Flake, Boulder Canyon, Hawaiian, TORTIYAHS!, etc.