Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Trading 7.5% Higher Following Strong Earnings

Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) shares traded up 7.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $14.37 and last traded at $14.48. 287,152 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 1,111,555 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.47.

The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.03. Utz Brands had a positive return on equity of 7.25% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.16 earnings per share.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.061 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. This is an increase from Utz Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio is -126.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Utz Brands from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Utz Brands from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Utz Brands from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Utz Brands from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Utz Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UTZ. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Utz Brands by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 40,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $711,000 after purchasing an additional 4,182 shares in the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Utz Brands by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 27,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 5,278 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in Utz Brands by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 116,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,063,000 after purchasing an additional 16,201 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its stake in Utz Brands by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 165,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,936,000 after purchasing an additional 82,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Utz Brands by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,474,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,091,000 after purchasing an additional 235,622 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

Utz Brands Trading Up 7.2 %

The company has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $14.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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.