Barclays Downgrades Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) to Equal Weight

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) was downgraded by equities researchers at Barclays from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $14.00 target price on the stock. Barclays‘s price target would indicate a potential downside of 0.46% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Utz Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Utz Brands from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of Utz Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Utz Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.27.

Utz Brands Stock Performance

Shares of Utz Brands stock opened at $14.06 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.40. 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 has a 12 month low of $6.78 and a 12 month high of $14.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -140.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.82.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last announced 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. 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.16 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Utz Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.771-0.795 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Utz Brands will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Utz Brands by 363.5% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 6,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 4,773 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Utz Brands by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 796,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,309,000 after acquiring an additional 167,958 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Utz Brands by 61.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 937,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,421,000 after purchasing an additional 356,428 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Utz Brands by 140.9% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 291,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,305,000 after purchasing an additional 170,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Utz Brands by 127.4% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 106,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $843,000 after purchasing an additional 59,623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

More Utz Brands News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Utz Brands agreed to be acquired by Intersnack Group for $14.25 per share in cash, sending the stock sharply higher on the takeover premium. Utz Brands to be taken private by Germany’s Intersnack Group
• Positive Sentiment: The deal price implies a roughly 91% premium, which is driving heavy trading and optimism that shareholders will receive a sizable cash payout if the transaction closes. Utz Brands to Be Taken Private in $2.9 Billion Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Several market reports highlighted that packaged-food peers also benefited from the buyout news, reinforcing the view that the transaction confirms strategic value in the snack category. Packaged food stocks perk up after Utz Brands buyout
• Neutral Sentiment: Law firms have launched investigations into whether the sale process and price were fair to public shareholders, which is common in take-private deals but could create headline risk. Shareholder Alert: The M&A Class Action Firm Announces An Investigation of Utz Brands, Inc.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades from Barclays and Stephens to “equal weight” suggest limited upside from here given the deal price is near the expected value. Utz Brands was downgraded by Barclays PLC

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.