DAVENPORT & Co LLC Sells 89,518 Shares of Utz Brands, Inc. $UTZ

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) by 63.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 50,530 shares of the company’s stock after selling 89,518 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Utz Brands were worth $614,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UTZ. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Utz Brands during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in Utz Brands by 76.1% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 3,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Utz Brands by 37.6% during the second quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 5,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Utz Brands by 16.1% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 7,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Utz Brands by 505.6% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 10,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 9,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on UTZ shares. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Friday, October 31st. Mizuho set a $16.00 price objective on Utz Brands in a report on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Utz Brands from $13.50 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Utz Brands from $19.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Utz Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Howard A. Friedman bought 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.58 per share, with a total value of $76,176.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 66,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $701,432.84. This represents a 12.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Series R. Of Um Partners, Llc purchased 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $10.48 per share, for a total transaction of $157,200.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 615,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,445,200. This trade represents a 2.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders purchased 92,313 shares of company stock worth $947,055 in the last quarter. Insiders own 16.32% of the company’s stock.

Utz Brands Price Performance

Shares of UTZ stock opened at $10.43 on Tuesday. Utz Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.19 and a 52 week high of $15.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 148.93, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $10.36 and its 200-day moving average is $12.11.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.23. The business had revenue of $377.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.25 million. Utz Brands had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. Utz Brands has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.824-0.847 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.063 dividend. This is an increase from Utz Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 357.14%.

About Utz Brands

Utz Brands, Inc is a leading U.S. manufacturer and distributor of salty snack foods, offering a wide range of products including potato chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, popcorn and tortilla chips. Headquartered in Hanover, Pennsylvania, the company markets its snacks under several well-known brands and serves grocery, mass merchandise, club, convenience and online retailers throughout the United States.

Founded in 1921 by Bill and Salie Utz as a small country store operation, the business expanded gradually through direct delivery to local customers and sales to regional grocers.