Royal Bank of Canada Acquires 356,428 Shares of Utz Brands, Inc. $UTZ

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its Utz Brands stake by 61.4% in the first quarter, acquiring 356,428 shares and bringing its total holdings to 937,060 shares, worth approximately $7.4 million.
• Other institutional investors also expanded their positions, and institutional ownership now stands at approximately 95.97% of Utz Brands’ outstanding stock.
• Utz reported quarterly EPS of $0.19, slightly ahead of estimates, while revenue rose 1.4% year over year to $371.8 million. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $13.39.

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ - Free Report) by 61.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 937,060 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 356,428 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.65% of Utz Brands worth $7,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UTZ. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 105.2% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,414,791 shares of the company's stock worth $25,066,000 after buying an additional 1,238,180 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Utz Brands by 249.9% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,658,502 shares of the company's stock worth $17,215,000 after buying an additional 1,184,571 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Utz Brands by 42.3% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,946,512 shares of the company's stock worth $36,979,000 after buying an additional 875,847 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in Utz Brands by 261.5% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 994,418 shares of the company's stock worth $10,322,000 after acquiring an additional 719,361 shares during the period. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its position in Utz Brands by 17.8% in the first quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 4,063,561 shares of the company's stock worth $32,183,000 after acquiring an additional 613,699 shares during the period. 95.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Utz Brands Price Performance

Utz Brands stock opened at $14.11 on Tuesday. Utz Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $6.78 and a 1-year high of $14.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.76 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.77.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.01. Utz Brands had a negative net margin of 2.00% and a positive return on equity of 8.97%. The business had revenue of $371.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $374.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Utz Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.063 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 22nd. Utz Brands's payout ratio is presently -75.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on UTZ. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $14.25 target price on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Utz Brands from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $14.25 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Utz Brands from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Utz Brands from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Utz Brands from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Utz Brands has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $13.39.

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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