Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Trading Up 8.4% on Strong Earnings

Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) rose 8.4% during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $17.57 and last traded at $17.57. Approximately 253,495 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 753,674 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.21.

The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $365.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.98 million. Utz Brands had a net margin of 0.29% and a return on equity of 6.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.17 EPS.

Utz Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.011 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.3%. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently -121.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on UTZ. Barclays dropped their price target on Utz Brands from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Utz Brands from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Utz Brands news, Director Bruce John Lindeman bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.11 per share, with a total value of $64,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $684,352.80. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 17.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Utz Brands

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in shares of Utz Brands in the second quarter valued at about $44,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Utz Brands in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $80,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Utz Brands during the second quarter valued at approximately $103,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Utz Brands in the third quarter valued at $142,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Utz Brands in the second quarter worth $185,000. 95.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Utz Brands Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -91.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.24.

About Utz Brands

Utz Brands, Inc engages in manufacture, marketing, and distribution of snack foods. It offers a range of salty snacks, including salty snacks, including potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, pork skins, veggie snacks, pub/party mixes, tortilla chips, salsa and dips, ready-to-eat popcorn, and other snacks under the Utz, Zapp’s, ON THE BORDER, Golden Flake, Boulder Canyon, Hawaiian, TORTIYAHS!, etc.