Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,467,940 Shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. significantly reduced its holdings in Utz Brands by 97.2%, selling over 1.4 million shares during the first quarter.
• Utz Brands recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.17, which was below the consensus estimate of $0.19, but its revenue increased by 2.9% year-over-year.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend from $0.01 to $0.061 per share, representing a dividend yield of 1.8%.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ - Free Report) by 97.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,532 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,467,940 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Utz Brands were worth $599,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Utz Brands in the 1st quarter valued at $196,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of Utz Brands by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 152,620 shares of the company's stock worth $2,390,000 after purchasing an additional 20,164 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Utz Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $339,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 250.8% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 89,083 shares of the company's stock worth $1,395,000 after acquiring an additional 63,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Utz Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $512,000. Institutional investors own 95.97% of the company's stock.

Utz Brands Trading Down 2.2%

UTZ traded down $0.29 on Wednesday, reaching $12.94. 586,825 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,221,247. The company's 50 day moving average is $13.48 and its 200-day moving average is $13.40. The company has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.64, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.17. Utz Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.53 and a twelve month high of $18.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $366.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $360.55 million. Utz Brands had a return on equity of 7.81% and a net margin of 1.27%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.061 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This is a boost from Utz Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. Utz Brands's dividend payout ratio is 114.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Utz Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. DA Davidson raised shares of Utz Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays decreased 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Utz Brands presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.