Vestcor Inc Lowers Holdings in Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc reduced its holdings in Utz Brands by 11.6%, now owning roughly 200,869 shares valued at approximately $2.83 million.
• Utz Brands reported a net margin of 1.94% with quarterly revenue of $366.7 million, outperforming analyst estimates despite a slight earnings miss.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.24 annually, reflecting positive company performance and a payout ratio of 75%.

Vestcor Inc decreased its position in shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ - Free Report) by 11.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 200,869 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,300 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc owned 0.14% of Utz Brands worth $2,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UTZ. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Utz Brands by 112.7% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,697 shares of the company's stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 4,078 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Utz Brands by 44.8% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 7,887 shares of the company's stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 2,441 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of Utz Brands during the 1st quarter worth about $144,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Utz Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $183,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in shares of Utz Brands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $196,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.97% of the company's stock.

Utz Brands Stock Down 1.7%

UTZ traded down $0.24 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.52. The company had a trading volume of 557,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,218,427. Utz Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $11.53 and a one year high of $18.89. The company has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a PE ratio of 64.26, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.17. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $13.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $366.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $360.55 million. Utz Brands had a net margin of 1.27% and a return on equity of 7.81%. The firm's revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.061 per share. This is a boost from Utz Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Utz Brands's payout ratio is 114.29%.

Insider Activity at Utz Brands

In related news, Director William Jr. Werzyn bought 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.81 per share, with a total value of $94,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 22,970 shares in the company, valued at $271,275.70. This represents a 53.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 16.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Utz Brands from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. TD Cowen downgraded Utz Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. DA Davidson upgraded Utz Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Utz Brands from $13.50 to $15.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.29.

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.