Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Key Points

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Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $13.93, but opened at $12.75. Utz Brands shares last traded at $12.35, with a volume of 734,644 shares.

The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $366.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $360.55 million. Utz Brands had a return on equity of 7.81% and a net margin of 1.27%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.061 per share. This is a boost from Utz Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Utz Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UTZ. TD Cowen cut Utz Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Utz Brands from $13.50 to $15.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays lowered their price target on Utz Brands from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Utz Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Utz Brands news, Director William Jr. Werzyn acquired 8,000 shares of Utz Brands stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.81 per share, with a total value of $94,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 22,970 shares in the company, valued at $271,275.70. This trade represents a 53.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 16.32% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Utz Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UTZ. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Utz Brands during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Utz Brands by 37.6% in the second quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 5,481 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 112.7% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,697 shares of the company's stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 4,078 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 44.8% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 7,887 shares of the company's stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 2,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Utz Brands in the first quarter worth about $144,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.97% of the company's stock.

Utz Brands Stock Up 0.6%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.41. The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Utz Brands Company Profile

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.