Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Down 37.5% in October

Key Points

• Utz Brands’ short interest fell 37.5% in October to 4.57 million shares, representing about 3.6% of shares outstanding and 2.4 days of trading volume to cover.
• The stock traded near its 12-month high at $14.29, while the company’s latest quarterly results slightly exceeded EPS expectations but missed revenue estimates. Analysts’ consensus rating remained Hold, with a $13.39 price target.
• Institutional investors own approximately 96% of Utz Brands and several funds initiated or increased positions during the third quarter. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.063 per share, yielding about 1.8% annually.

Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,574,410 shares, a drop of 37.5% from the September 30th total of 7,314,025 shares. Approximately 3.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,942,359 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Utz Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UTZ traded up $0.03 on Monday, hitting $14.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,117,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,360,591. Utz Brands has a 12 month low of $6.78 and a 12 month high of $14.36. The company has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.32 and a beta of 0.79. The stock's 50-day moving average is $14.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $371.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.18 million. Utz Brands had a negative net margin of 2.00% and a positive return on equity of 8.97%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Utz Brands will post 0.80 EPS for the current year.

Utz Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a dividend of $0.0630 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Utz Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -75.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Utz Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTZ. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new position in Utz Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at $224,000. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Utz Brands in the 3rd quarter worth $503,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Utz Brands in the 3rd quarter worth $159,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 3,524.2% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,247 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 2,185 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 318.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,783 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 2,879 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Utz Brands from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Utz Brands from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $14.25 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Utz Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Stephens set a $14.25 target price on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Utz Brands from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $13.39.

About Utz Brands

Utz Brands, Inc is a U.S.-based snack food company that manufactures, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of branded salty snacks. Its products include potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, pork rinds, popcorn and other snack items sold through grocery stores, mass merchants, club stores, convenience stores and e-commerce channels.

The company's brand portfolio includes Utz, Zapp's, Boulder Canyon, On the Border, Golden Flake, Good Health and Hawaiian, among others.

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