Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $9.68 Million Position in Utz Brands, Inc. $UTZ

Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 932,242 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 80,205 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.65% of Utz Brands worth $9,677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Utz Brands by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,750,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,169,000 after purchasing an additional 475,628 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 71,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $737,000 after buying an additional 7,151 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Utz Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $391,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,808,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,774,000 after buying an additional 35,626 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Utz Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,984,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

Utz Brands Trading Up 3.0%

NYSE:UTZ opened at $7.10 on Thursday. Utz Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.78 and a twelve month high of $14.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $7.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.84. The company has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -70.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.83.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.01. Utz Brands had a negative net margin of 0.58% and a positive return on equity of 8.61%. The firm had revenue of $361.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.16 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Utz Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.771-0.795 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Utz Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 13th were paid a $0.063 dividend. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 13th. Utz Brands’s payout ratio is presently -250.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. BTIG Research started coverage on Utz Brands in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $10.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Utz Brands from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Utz Brands from $10.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Utz Brands presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.06.

Utz Brands Profile

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.