Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 3,400 Shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) by 18.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,300 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,400 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Utz Brands were worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Utz Brands during the fourth quarter valued at about $54,000. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 26,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 2,667 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 126,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,981,000 after acquiring an additional 9,988 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Utz Brands by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 95,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Utz Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 95.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Utz Brands Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE UTZ opened at $13.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 77.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.01. Utz Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $12.71 and a 52-week high of $20.04. 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 50 day moving average price is $14.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.06.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $341.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $349.93 million. Utz Brands had a net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 7.92%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.061 dividend. This is an increase from Utz Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on UTZ. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Utz Brands from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Utz Brands from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Utz Brands from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on Utz Brands from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Howard A. Friedman purchased 3,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $14.16 per share, with a total value of $49,914.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 265,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,762,722.64. This trade represents a 1.34 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 17.00% of the company’s stock.

Utz Brands Profile

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.