Sittner & Nelson LLC Takes $119,000 Position in Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV)

Sittner & Nelson LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Universal by 69.1% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 273,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,169,000 after purchasing an additional 111,691 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of Universal during the 1st quarter valued at about $12,273,000. Insight Folios Inc raised its holdings in shares of Universal by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 123,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after buying an additional 8,222 shares in the last quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC lifted its position in Universal by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 54,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,806,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Universal by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 54,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,606,000 after buying an additional 3,716 shares during the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Universal Stock Performance

NYSE:UVV opened at $52.04 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $51.76 and a 200 day moving average of $50.90. The company has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 0.77. Universal Co. has a 1-year low of $45.19 and a 1-year high of $67.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $597.05 million during the quarter. Universal had a return on equity of 8.92% and a net margin of 4.31%.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.23%. Universal’s payout ratio is 66.67%.

Universal announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Universal Profile

Universal Corporation processes and supplies leaf tobacco and plant-based ingredients worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Tobacco Operations; and Ingredients Operations. It is involved in the procuring, financing, processing, packing, storing, and shipping leaf tobacco for sale to manufacturers of consumer tobacco products.