Utz Brands, Inc. $UTZ Shares Bought by Trexquant Investment LP

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP significantly increased its holdings in Utz Brands, Inc. by 295.0% in the first quarter, now owning 220,862 shares valued at approximately $3.11 million.
• A number of institutional investors showed increased interest in Utz, with a notable 38.0% boost in holdings from Ameriprise Financial Inc. during the same period.
• Despite a revenue increase, Utz Brands reported a missed EPS estimate of $0.17 for the last quarter, below the expected $0.19, and has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.820-0.850 EPS.

Trexquant Investment LP boosted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ - Free Report) by 295.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 220,862 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 164,946 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.16% of Utz Brands worth $3,110,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Utz Brands by 7.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,439,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,753,000 after purchasing an additional 501,374 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 38.0% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,671,757 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,858,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560,884 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 19.7% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,531,986 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,570,000 after acquiring an additional 252,165 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 1.5% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,520,759 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,412,000 after acquiring an additional 22,364 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,400,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,923,000 after acquiring an additional 116,376 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Utz Brands from $13.50 to $15.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Utz Brands has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.29.

Utz Brands Stock Up 1.5%

Utz Brands stock traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $13.85. 577,245 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 722,143. Utz Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.53 and a 12 month high of $18.89. The company has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 65.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $13.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.34.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.02). Utz Brands had a net margin of 1.27% and a return on equity of 7.81%. The firm had revenue of $366.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $360.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Utz Brands has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.820-0.850 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Utz Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.061 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Utz Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 114.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christina Choi sold 5,703 shares of Utz Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.63, for a total value of $77,731.89. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,710 shares in the company, valued at $459,467.30. This trade represents a 14.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 16.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Utz Brands Company Profile

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.