Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Shares Down 3.9%

Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 3.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $17.52 and last traded at $17.52. Approximately 260,272 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 822,228 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UTZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Utz Brands from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Utz Brands from $20.00 to $20.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Utz Brands from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Utz Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.63.

Utz Brands Trading Down 4.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -58.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $352.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $354.63 million. Utz Brands had a negative net margin of 1.73% and a positive return on equity of 6.08%. The firm's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.059 per share. This is an increase from Utz Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Utz Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently -74.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Utz Brands news, major shareholder Series U. Of Um Partners, Llc sold 446,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.40, for a total transaction of $7,764,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 397,885 shares in the company, valued at $6,923,199. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Utz Brands news, major shareholder Series U. Of Um Partners, Llc sold 446,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.40, for a total value of $7,764,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 397,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,923,199. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Chinh Chu sold 92,226 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.80, for a total value of $1,641,622.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,556,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at $63,299,541.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 609,181 shares of company stock worth $10,754,925 in the last quarter. 17.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Utz Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UTZ. Point72 Middle East FZE bought a new stake in shares of Utz Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Utz Brands during the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Utz Brands by 120.2% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,891 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 104.9% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,683 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delta Asset Management LLC TN lifted its position in Utz Brands by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 5,000 shares of the company's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. 95.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Utz Brands

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.