Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Utz Brands in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $14.25 price target (up from $10.00) on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Thursday. Stephens set a $14.25 price target on Utz Brands in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $14.25 price objective on shares of Utz Brands in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Utz Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Utz Brands has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.39.

Utz Brands Price Performance

UTZ stock opened at $14.10 on Friday. 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 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. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.47. Utz Brands has a 12-month low of $6.78 and a 12-month high of $14.44.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. Utz Brands had a positive return on equity of 8.61% and a negative net margin of 0.58%.The firm had revenue of $361.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.76 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.16 EPS. The business’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. On average, analysts expect that Utz Brands will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Utz Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 105.2% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,414,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,066,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,180 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 249.9% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,658,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,571 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 42.3% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,946,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,979,000 after purchasing an additional 875,847 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in Utz Brands by 261.5% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 994,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,322,000 after purchasing an additional 719,361 shares during the period. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its position in Utz Brands by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 4,063,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,183,000 after purchasing an additional 613,699 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.

Utz Brands Company 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.