Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) Plans Dividend Increase - $0.06 Per Share

Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, June 5th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of 0.061 per share on Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This is a 454.5% increase from Utz Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01.

Utz Brands has raised its dividend payment by an average of 5.3% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 3 years. Utz Brands has a payout ratio of 25.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Utz Brands to earn $0.92 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.1%.

Utz Brands Stock Performance

UTZ stock traded up $0.35 during trading on Monday, reaching $14.00. 752,730 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 946,361. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 77.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.18. The company's fifty day moving average price is $13.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.10. Utz Brands has a 1-year low of $11.53 and a 1-year high of $18.89.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.16. The business had revenue of $352.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.44 million. Utz Brands had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 1.13%. The company's revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Utz Brands will post 0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group cut their target price on Utz Brands from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Cowen lowered Utz Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Utz Brands from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. DA Davidson raised Utz Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on Utz Brands from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Utz Brands currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.81.

Insider Activity at Utz Brands

In other news, Director Timothy Brown bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.96 per share, with a total value of $59,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 67,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $808,173.08. This trade represents a 7.99% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William Jr. Werzyn bought 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $11.81 per share, for a total transaction of $94,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $271,275.70. The trade was a 53.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 16.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Utz Brands

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 5.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,470 shares of the company's stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,190 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Utz Brands by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 196,013 shares of the company's stock worth $2,760,000 after acquiring an additional 52,285 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Utz Brands by 39.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 248,912 shares of the company's stock worth $3,504,000 after buying an additional 70,739 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 40.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,022,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,480,000 after acquiring an additional 585,952 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.97% of the company's stock.

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.