Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Given “Neutral” Rating at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler restated their neutral rating on shares of Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $14.25 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $10.00.

UTZ has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $15.00 price target on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Utz Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Utz Brands from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.39.

Utz Brands Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE UTZ opened at $14.09 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -140.84, a P/E/G ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.82. Utz Brands has a 52 week low of $6.78 and a 52 week high of $14.53. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.43.

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

Utz Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd were given a $0.063 dividend. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 22nd. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio is -250.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Utz Brands

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 39.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 248,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,504,000 after buying an additional 70,739 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Utz Brands by 5.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,190 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Utz Brands by 40.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,022,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,480,000 after acquiring an additional 585,952 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Utz Brands by 36.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 196,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,760,000 after purchasing an additional 52,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Utz Brands by 10.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 77,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $974,000 after purchasing an additional 7,073 shares during the last quarter. 95.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Utz Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Utz announced a take-private agreement with Intersnack at $14.25 per share, which lifted the stock sharply as investors priced in the acquisition premium. Utz Will Go Private in $2.9B Deal With Intersnack
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler reaffirmed a neutral rating but raised its price target to $14.25 from $10.00, effectively aligning its target with the deal price and reinforcing the transaction’s valuation. Piper Sandler rating update
• Neutral Sentiment: Several law firms announced investigations into whether the buyout price and process were fair to shareholders, which may add headline noise but does not change the announced terms. Kaskela Law Alert
• Neutral Sentiment: Other reports focused on the deal and cited UTZ’s move to go private, keeping attention on the acquisition rather than operations or earnings. Baltimore favorite Utz plans to go private in deal valued at nearly $3B
• Negative Sentiment: DA Davidson, Barclays, and Stephens all downgraded the stock or moved to a more cautious stance, suggesting less upside beyond the deal price and reflecting uncertainty around the transaction. Barclays Downgrades Utz Brands

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.