Universal (UVV) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Universal Corporation is a global agricultural products and services company best known for sourcing, processing and supplying leaf tobacco to manufacturers. Its services include managing tobacco supply chains, from crop purchasing and processing to logistics and related support for customers.

The company also operates an Ingredients Operations business, which supplies products such as dehydrated fruits and vegetables, flavors, extracts and other plant-based ingredients for food and beverage customers.

Founded in 1918 and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, Universal serves customers and growers across a range of international markets. The company is led by Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer George C. Freeman III.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $37.65 to $38.12
• 50-Day Range: $37.73 to $45.94
• 52-Week Range: $37.38 to $59.38
• Volume: 32,922 shs
• Average Volume: 271,756 shs
• Market Capitalization: $945.22 million
• P/E Ratio: N/A
• Dividend Yield: 8.76%
• Price Target: N/A
• Consensus Rating: Sell

Universal Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Universal scored higher than 40% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 124th out of 169 stocks in the consumer staples sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 0.9 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Sell

Consensus Rating

Universal has received a consensus rating of Sell. The company's average rating score is 1.00, and is based on no strong buy ratings, no buy ratings, no hold ratings, and 2 sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Universal has only been the subject of 2 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 13.59%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Universal are expected to grow by 13.59% in the coming year, from $3.09 to $3.51 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Universal is -422.29, which means that its earnings are negative and its P/E ratio cannot be compared to companies with positive earnings.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Universal is -422.29, which means that its earnings are negative and its P/E ratio cannot be compared to companies with positive earnings.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Universal has a PEG Ratio of 12.28. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Universal has a P/B Ratio of 0.67. P/B Ratios below 1 indicate that a company could be undervalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 2.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Bearish

Percentage of Shares Shorted

8.77% of the float of Universal has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Universal has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 5.54.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Universal has recently decreased by 4.09%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

Dividend

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Leadership

Universal is a leading dividend payer. It pays a dividend yield of 8.75%, putting its dividend yield in the top 25% of dividend-paying stocks.

Dividend Growth

Universal has been increasing its dividend for 56 years.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on EPS estimates, Universal will have a dividend payout ratio of 94.59% in the coming year. This indicates that Universal may not be able to sustain their current dividend.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.26

News Sentiment

Universal has a news sentiment score of 0.26. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a lower news sentiment than the 0.61 average news sentiment score of Consumer Staples companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 30 news articles for Universal this week, compared to 10 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

12 people have searched for UVV on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 9% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

12 people have added Universal to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 300% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 0.8 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Universal insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

2.20% of the stock of Universal is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

81.00% of the stock of Universal is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

Company Calendar

• Ex-Dividend for 11/2 Dividend: 10/09/2026
• Record date for 11/2 Dividend: 10/12/2026
• Dividend Payable: 11/02/2026
• Last Earnings: 11/04/2026
• Today: 11/13/2026
• Fiscal Year End: 3/31/2027

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Consumer Staples
• Industry: Tobacco
• Sub-Industry: Tobacco
• Current Symbol: NYSE:UVV
• CIK: 102037
• Web: www.universalcorp.com
• Phone: (804) 359-9311
• Fax: 804-254-3594
• Employees: 25,000
• Year Founded: 1886

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): ($0.09)
• Trailing P/E Ratio: N/A
• Forward P/E Ratio: 10.82
• P/E Growth: 12.28
• Net Income: $32.64 million
• Net Margins: -0.09%
• Pretax Margin: 1.86%
• Return on Equity: 1.88%
• Return on Assets: 0.93%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.43
• Current Ratio: 2.54
• Quick Ratio: 0.91

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $2.92 billion
• Price / Sales: 0.32
• Cash Flow: $6.46 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 5.88
• Book Value: $57.13 per share
• Price / Book: 0.67

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 24,930,000
• Free Float: 24,379,000
• Market Cap: $947.19 million
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.61