Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Utz Brands experienced a dramatic increase in short interest, rising by 529,066.7% to 6,350,000 shares as of July 15th, reflecting approximately 9.0% of its shares sold short.
• The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, falling short of expectations of $0.19, while revenue rose by 2.9% to $366.70 million.
• Utz recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.061 per share, representing a significant increase from their previous dividend of $0.01, with a current dividend yield of 1.8%.

Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 6,350,000 shares, agrowthof529,066.7% from the June 30th total of 1,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,200,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.3 days. Approximately9.0% of the company's shares are sold short. Approximately9.0% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,200,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.3 days.

Utz Brands Stock Performance

Shares of UTZ stock traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $13.56. 754,670 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,218,013. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $13.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.14. Utz Brands has a 12-month low of $11.53 and a 12-month high of $18.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $366.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $360.55 million. Utz Brands had a return on equity of 8.05% and a net margin of 1.94%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Utz Brands will post 0.85 EPS for the current year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.061 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a positive change from Utz Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Utz Brands's payout ratio is currently 75.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Utz Brands

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UTZ. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Utz Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $339,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Utz Brands by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 88,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 6,824 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Utz Brands by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 219,614 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,439,000 after purchasing an additional 16,175 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Utz Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $258,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Utz Brands by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 39,879 shares of the company's stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Utz Brands from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. UBS Group increased their target price on Utz Brands from $13.50 to $15.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. TD Cowen lowered Utz Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.88.

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.

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