Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) Stock Position Lifted by Gratus Capital LLC

Gratus Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ - Free Report) by 14.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 552,370 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 70,755 shares during the quarter. Gratus Capital LLC owned 0.39% of Utz Brands worth $8,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Utz Brands by 72.0% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 710,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,538,000 after buying an additional 297,395 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Utz Brands by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,212,493 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,691,000 after purchasing an additional 250,557 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 96.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 409,027 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,493,000 after buying an additional 200,850 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,952,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,946,000 after purchasing an additional 199,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its position in Utz Brands by 47.5% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 594,643 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,986,000 after purchasing an additional 191,441 shares in the last quarter. 95.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Utz Brands Price Performance

Shares of Utz Brands stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Monday, hitting $18.37. 799,140 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 820,637. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.46. Utz Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.17 and a 1 year high of $20.04.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $346.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $346.99 million. Utz Brands had a positive return on equity of 6.16% and a negative net margin of 1.38%. The business's revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.059 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is an increase from Utz Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Utz Brands's payout ratio is currently -96.00%.

Insider Transactions at Utz Brands

In other Utz Brands news, Director Dylan Lissette sold 10,003 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.11, for a total transaction of $191,157.33. Following the transaction, the director now owns 118,222 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,259,222.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Dylan Lissette sold 10,003 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.11, for a total value of $191,157.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 118,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,222.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Series U. Of Um Partners, Llc sold 397,885 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.76, for a total transaction of $7,464,322.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,088,718 shares of company stock worth $19,810,462. Insiders own 17.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UTZ shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Utz Brands from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Utz Brands in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Utz Brands from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Utz Brands from $20.50 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Utz Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.42.

Utz Brands 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.

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