Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Cut to Hold at DA Davidson

DA Davidson cut shares of Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $14.25 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $15.00.

Several other research firms also recently commented on UTZ. TD Cowen cut their target price on Utz Brands from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays cut Utz Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday. Stephens set a $14.25 target price on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Utz Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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 Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $7.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.47. Utz Brands has a 52-week low of $6.78 and a 52-week high of $14.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -140.94, a P/E/G ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 0.82.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $361.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.76 million. Utz Brands had a positive return on equity of 8.61% and a negative net margin of 0.58%.Utz Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. Utz Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.771-0.795 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Utz Brands will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Utz Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.063 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 22nd. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -250.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Utz Brands

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 17.8% in the first quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 4,063,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,183,000 after buying an additional 613,699 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Utz Brands by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 886,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,199,000 after buying an additional 160,720 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Utz Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $2,336,000. Systematic Financial Management LP acquired a new position in Utz Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $2,984,000. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Utz Brands by 78.7% during the 4th quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 585,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,081,000 after acquiring an additional 258,003 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

Utz Brands News Summary

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.