Federated Hermes Inc. Makes New Investment in Universal Corporation $UVV

Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 24,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,351,000. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.10% of Universal at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UVV. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in Universal by 93.6% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 22,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 10,987 shares during the period. TrueMark Investments LLC grew its stake in Universal by 6.6% in the third quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC now owns 90,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,057,000 after purchasing an additional 5,610 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in shares of Universal by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 7,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Universal by 79.4% during the third quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 2,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Universal by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 46,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,580,000 after buying an additional 3,292 shares in the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UVV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Universal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Universal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Universal Stock Performance

UVV opened at $58.68 on Friday. Universal Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.96 and a fifty-two week high of $67.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 2.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $54.22 and a 200 day moving average of $54.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.22, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.66.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.18. Universal had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 3.74%.The company had revenue of $754.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $704.30 million.

Universal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. Universal’s payout ratio is presently 73.87%.

About Universal

Universal Corporation (NYSE: UVV) is a global agribusiness company primarily engaged in the procurement, processing and sale of leaf tobacco. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company sources cured leaf tobacco from key growing regions in North and South America, Africa and Asia. Universal serves major multinational tobacco manufacturers by providing a full range of services including inventory management, quality control and logistics support to ensure a consistent and reliable supply of tobacco leaf.

In addition to its core leaf tobacco operations, Universal offers integrated supply-chain services that encompass warehousing, distribution and ingredient sourcing for smokeless and novel tobacco products.