Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Makes New $683,000 Investment in Universal Corporation $UVV

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 11,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $683,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UVV. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Universal in the second quarter worth about $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Universal by 38.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Universal in the first quarter worth about $202,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in Universal in the first quarter worth about $233,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in Universal in the second quarter worth about $255,000. 81.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Universal Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:UVV opened at $52.21 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Universal Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.40 and a fifty-two week high of $67.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $54.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.15. The stock has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.73.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.18. Universal had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 3.51%.The company had revenue of $754.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $704.30 million.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal

In other Universal news, COO Airton L. Hentschke sold 10,000 shares of Universal stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.94, for a total transaction of $549,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 135,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,423,987.26. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Sledd sold 4,617 shares of Universal stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.25, for a total value of $245,855.25. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,698 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,918.50. This trade represents a 22.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 17,417 shares of company stock valued at $943,347 in the last 90 days. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on UVV shares. Wall Street Zen raised Universal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut Universal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Universal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Universal Company Profile

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.