Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Hits New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Utz Brands shares reached a new 52-week high of $14.33, with the stock last trading near $14.27 and a market capitalization of approximately $2.06 billion.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock carries an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.39, despite one Buy rating and recent target-price increases from some firms.
• In its latest quarter, Utz reported EPS of $0.19, exceeding estimates by $0.01, while revenue rose 1.4% year over year to $371.8 million. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.063 per share, or about a 1.8% annualized yield.

Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $14.33 and last traded at $14.2650, with a volume of 331926 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $14.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on UTZ. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $14.25 target price (down from $15.00) on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Utz Brands from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $14.25 price objective on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.39.

Utz Brands Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.26 and a beta of 0.76. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $13.11 and a 200 day moving average of $9.55.

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

Utz Brands Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Utz Brands

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its position in shares of Utz Brands by 127.9% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 117,107 shares of the company's stock worth $902,000 after purchasing an additional 65,712 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP increased its holdings in Utz Brands by 61.0% in the second 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 during the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in Utz Brands in the second quarter valued at about $80,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Utz Brands in the second quarter valued at about $1,068,000. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor bought a new position in Utz Brands during the second quarter worth about $14,462,000. Institutional investors own 95.97% of the company's stock.

About Utz Brands

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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