Utz Brands, Inc. $UTZ Shares Sold by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its Utz Brands stake by 44.8% in the second quarter, selling 203,804 shares and retaining 251,344 shares worth approximately $1.94 million. Institutional investors collectively own 95.97% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with one Buy, nine Hold, and one Sell rating. Utz has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $13.39, below its reported trading price of $14.23.
• Utz reported quarterly EPS of $0.19, slightly above estimates, while revenue reached $371.8 million and rose 1.4% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.063 per share, implying an annualized yield of 1.8%.

Squarepoint Ops LLC decreased its holdings in Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ - Free Report) by 44.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 251,344 shares of the company's stock after selling 203,804 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned about 0.17% of Utz Brands worth $1,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Corient Private Wealth LP increased its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 61.0% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 356,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,749,000 after purchasing an additional 135,239 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Utz Brands by 980.5% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 725,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,590,000 after buying an additional 658,796 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in Utz Brands in the second quarter valued at about $80,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Utz Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,068,000. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor acquired a new stake in shares of Utz Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $14,462,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UTZ. BTIG Research cut Utz Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $14.25 price objective on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $14.25 target price (up from $10.00) on shares of Utz Brands in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Stephens set a $14.25 price target on Utz Brands in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Utz Brands currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $13.39.

Utz Brands Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of UTZ opened at $14.23 on Tuesday. Utz Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $6.78 and a 1-year high of $14.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.48. The stock has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.14 and a beta of 0.76.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $371.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $374.18 million. Utz Brands had a positive return on equity of 8.97% and a negative net margin of 2.00%.Utz Brands's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Utz Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.063 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Utz Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -75.76%.

Utz Brands Profile

Utz Brands, Inc is a U.S.-based snack food manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Hanover, Pennsylvania. The company produces and sells a broad range of branded salty snacks, including potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, popcorn, pork rinds and other snack foods.

Its portfolio includes the Utz, Zapp's, Boulder Canyon, On The Border and other regional and specialty snack brands. Utz products are sold through grocery stores, mass merchants, club retailers, convenience stores and other retail channels, as well as through e-commerce and foodservice distributors.

Founded in 1921 as a family-operated potato chip business in Hanover, Utz expanded through organic growth and acquisitions into a national snack food company.

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