Universal (NYSE:UVV) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 97,054 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the previous session’s volume of 169,511 shares.The stock last traded at $64.91 and had previously closed at $59.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded Universal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday.

Universal Stock Up 10.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 2.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $56.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.79.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter. Universal had a return on equity of 8.92% and a net margin of 4.31%. The business had revenue of $702.28 million during the quarter.

Universal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Investors of record on Monday, July 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is an increase from Universal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 14th. Universal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Heritage Wealth Advisors grew its stake in Universal by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 26,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,459,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Universal by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Universal by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 16,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Universal by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in Universal by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 14,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $825,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Universal

Universal Corporation processes and supplies leaf tobacco and plant-based ingredients worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Tobacco Operations; and Ingredients Operations. It is involved in the procuring, financing, processing, packing, storing, and shipping leaf tobacco for sale to manufacturers of consumer tobacco products.