Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) Receives $17.81 Average PT from Brokerages

Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eight analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.81.

UTZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Utz Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Utz Brands from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Utz Brands from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson raised shares of Utz Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

Utz Brands Stock Down 1.1%

UTZ stock traded down $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $13.15. The stock had a trading volume of 954,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 956,554. Utz Brands has a one year low of $11.53 and a one year high of $18.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company's 50 day moving average is $13.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.86. The company has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.18.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16. Utz Brands had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 8.05%. The firm had revenue of $352.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Utz Brands will post 0.85 EPS for the current year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.061 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This is an increase from Utz Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Utz Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Utz Brands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Utz Brands by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,510,472 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,654,000 after buying an additional 36,425 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Utz Brands by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 885,316 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,422,000 after buying an additional 30,156 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of Utz Brands by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 152,620 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,390,000 after buying an additional 20,164 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Utz Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $339,000. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Utz Brands by 250.8% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 89,083 shares of the company's stock worth $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 63,692 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.