Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Trading 7.5% Higher Following Strong Earnings

Shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) rose 7.5% on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $14.37 and last traded at $14.48. Approximately 287,152 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 1,111,555 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.47.

The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $341.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.93 million. Utz Brands had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 7.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.16 earnings per share.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.061 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. This is a positive change from Utz Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio is -126.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lowered their target price on Utz Brands from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Utz Brands from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Utz Brands from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Utz Brands

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Utz Brands by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,923,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,079,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025,656 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Utz Brands by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,110,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,376,000 after buying an additional 698,589 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Utz Brands by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,208,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,564,000 after buying an additional 620,196 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its stake in Utz Brands by 157.9% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 612,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,591,000 after buying an additional 375,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,474,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,091,000 after purchasing an additional 235,622 shares during the last quarter. 95.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Utz Brands Stock Up 2.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -74.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $14.35 and its 200-day moving average is $16.20.

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.