Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $13.81, but opened at $13.52. Utz Brands shares last traded at $13.66, with a volume of 48,005 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on UTZ. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Utz Brands from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Utz Brands from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen cut shares of Utz Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Utz Brands from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Utz Brands in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Utz Brands has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.56.

Utz Brands Stock Down 2.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.22, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.10. The firm's 50 day moving average is $13.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.03. Utz Brands had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 1.13%. The business had revenue of $341.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $349.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.16 EPS. Research analysts predict that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.85 EPS for the current year.

Utz Brands Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a $0.011 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 7th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. Utz Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 133.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Utz Brands

In other Utz Brands news, insider Cc Collier Holdings, Llc sold 496,038 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.40, for a total transaction of $6,646,909.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Howard A. Friedman bought 3,525 shares of Utz Brands stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.16 per share, with a total value of $49,914.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 265,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,762,722.64. This trade represents a 1.34 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 16.32% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UTZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Utz Brands by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,923,292 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,079,000 after acquiring an additional 1,025,656 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Utz Brands by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,110,873 shares of the company's stock worth $64,376,000 after purchasing an additional 698,589 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Utz Brands by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,208,402 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,564,000 after purchasing an additional 620,196 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its position in Utz Brands by 157.9% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 612,441 shares of the company's stock worth $9,591,000 after purchasing an additional 375,000 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Utz Brands by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,400,014 shares of the company's stock worth $21,923,000 after purchasing an additional 116,376 shares during the period. 95.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.