Piper Sandler Reiterates “Neutral” Rating for Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ)

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating restated by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $14.25 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $10.00. Piper Sandler’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 1.10% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Barclays lowered shares of Utz Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $14.25 price objective (down from $15.00) on shares of Utz Brands in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $14.25 price objective on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Utz Brands from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.39.

Utz Brands Stock Performance

NYSE UTZ opened at $14.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -140.94, a PEG ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 0.82. Utz Brands has a 1-year low of $6.78 and a 1-year high of $14.44. The company has a 50 day moving average of $7.97 and a 200-day moving average of $8.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $361.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.76 million. Utz Brands had a positive return on equity of 8.61% and a negative net margin of 0.58%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.16 EPS. Utz Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.771-0.795 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Utz Brands will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Utz Brands

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 140,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,711,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Utz Brands by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 109,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Utz Brands by 76.1% during 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 during the period. Finally, First Bank & Trust boosted its position in Utz Brands by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 17,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,748 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

Key Utz Brands News

Here are the key news stories impacting Utz Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target to $14.25, implying the stock is trading near the proposed buyout value and suggesting limited additional downside from current levels.
• Neutral Sentiment: Utz announced it will go private in a $2.9 billion transaction with Intersnack Group, giving the buyer a major U.S. snacking foothold and effectively setting a deal price ceiling for the shares.
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms are investigating the merger, with Brodsky & Smith, Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, and Kaskela Law all questioning whether the $14.25 offer undervalues Utz Brands shareholders. Article: Brodsky & Smith Shareholder Update
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler downgraded Utz Brands from strong-buy to hold, while DA Davidson cut its rating from buy to hold and Barclays and Stephens both downgraded the stock to equal weight, reflecting more cautious views after the deal announcement.

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.