Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Given Equal Weight Rating at Barclays

Barclays reaffirmed their equal weight rating on shares of Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $14.00 price target on the stock.

UTZ has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Utz Brands from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $15.00 price objective on Utz Brands in a report on Thursday, April 9th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Utz Brands in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $10.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, DA Davidson raised Utz Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Utz Brands has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.77.

Utz Brands Trading Up 89.3%

NYSE UTZ opened at $14.11 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.38. The stock has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -141.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.82. Utz Brands has a 12-month low of $6.78 and a 12-month high of $14.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $361.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.76 million. Utz Brands had a negative net margin of 0.58% and a positive return on equity of 8.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.16 earnings per share. Utz Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.771-0.795 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Utz Brands will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Utz Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.063 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 22nd. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -250.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in Utz Brands by 105.2% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,414,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,066,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,180 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 249.9% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,658,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,215,000 after buying an additional 1,184,571 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 42.3% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,946,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,979,000 after buying an additional 875,847 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 261.5% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 994,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,322,000 after buying an additional 719,361 shares during the period. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 4,063,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,183,000 after buying an additional 613,699 shares during the period. 95.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Utz Brands

Here are the key news stories impacting Utz Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Utz Brands agreed to be acquired by Intersnack in a $2.9 billion all-cash transaction at $14.25 per share, giving shareholders a large premium and sending the stock higher. Utz Brands to Be Taken Private in $2.9 Billion Deal
• Positive Sentiment: The buyout removes deal risk for now and signals Intersnack sees value in Utz’s brands and North American snack distribution, which can support investor confidence in the transaction closing. Utz Brands to be acquired by Intersnack Group in $2.9B transaction
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays and Stephens reaffirmed “equal weight” ratings, with one price target near the deal price, but the takeover announcement has overshadowed the analyst notes. Benzinga coverage
• Negative Sentiment: A shareholder-law investigation has been launched to examine whether public investors are getting a fair price, which could create additional scrutiny and potential delays. Shareholder Alert

Utz Brands Company Profile

Utz Brands, Inc is a leading U.S. manufacturer and distributor of salty snack foods, offering a wide range of products including potato chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, popcorn and tortilla chips. Headquartered in Hanover, Pennsylvania, the company markets its snacks under several well-known brands and serves grocery, mass merchandise, club, convenience and online retailers throughout the United States.

Founded in 1921 by Bill and Salie Utz as a small country store operation, the business expanded gradually through direct delivery to local customers and sales to regional grocers.