Federated Hermes Inc. Purchases New Shares in Universal Corporation $UVV

Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 24,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,351,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Universal by 265.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Universal in the second quarter worth about $44,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Universal by 63.2% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Universal by 32.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Universal by 109.6% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 1,207 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

Universal Price Performance

UVV opened at $58.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.70 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50-day moving average is $54.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.10. Universal Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.96 and a 1 year high of $67.33.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $754.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $704.30 million. Universal had a net margin of 3.74% and a return on equity of 8.24%.

Universal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Universal’s payout ratio is presently 73.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UVV. Weiss Ratings lowered Universal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Universal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Universal Company Profile

Universal Corporation (NYSE: UVV) is a global agribusiness company primarily engaged in the procurement, processing and sale of leaf tobacco. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company sources cured leaf tobacco from key growing regions in North and South America, Africa and Asia. Universal serves major multinational tobacco manufacturers by providing a full range of services including inventory management, quality control and logistics support to ensure a consistent and reliable supply of tobacco leaf.

In addition to its core leaf tobacco operations, Universal offers integrated supply-chain services that encompass warehousing, distribution and ingredient sourcing for smokeless and novel tobacco products.