Unilever (NYSE:UL) Reaches New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $58.06 and last traded at $58.2080, with a volume of 305823 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.98.

Key Headlines Impacting Unilever

Here are the key news stories impacting Unilever this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Institutional backing — Artisan Partners publicly supports Unilever’s plan to sell/merge its food unit, which reduces a major investor hurdle and helps validate management’s strategic direction. Artisan Partners backs Unilever’s plan
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic refocus — CEO Fernando Fernandez is steering Unilever back toward health & beauty, an area where he has past success; that refocus supports a higher‑margin, consumer‑brand centric strategy once the Foods unit is separated. Unilever CEO returns to his roots
• Neutral Sentiment: Deal execution and structure — Unilever and McCormick confirmed a cash‑and‑stock combination valuing Unilever’s Foods business (~$44.8B) that creates a large global flavor/foods company. The transaction is transformational but complex; outcomes depend on approvals, integration, and equity dilution. Unilever and McCormick agree food business deal
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst skepticism and market reaction — Several analysts called the deal’s value and structure “not compelling,” and markets reacted negatively as investors questioned value creation and dilution risk. That skepticism is pressuring UL shares. Analysts split on Unilever-McCormick deal
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal risk — A law firm launched an investigation into the proposed McCormick merger, which could signal potential litigation or procedural challenges that might delay or complicate closing. Investor alert investigates merger
• Negative Sentiment: Operational caution — Unilever has instituted a global hiring freeze for at least three months, highlighting near‑term headwinds (geopolitical and inflationary pressures) and signaling management is tightening costs — supportive for margins long term but negative for near‑term growth expectations. Unilever starts global hiring freeze

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Kepler Capital Markets lowered shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Unilever from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. DZ Bank downgraded Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $60.10 price objective on Unilever and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unilever currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.55.

Unilever Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $67.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.14.

Unilever (NYSE:UL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($1.00). The business had revenue of $11.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.39 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Unilever PLC will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $0.5547 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unilever

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UL. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 3.1% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,247,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,950,000 after acquiring an additional 37,630 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at $5,003,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 78,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,127,000 after purchasing an additional 21,313 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 66.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 158,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,709,000 after purchasing an additional 63,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich bought a new position in shares of Unilever during the 3rd quarter valued at $82,461,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Company Profile

Unilever PLC is a global consumer goods company with roots dating back to the early 20th century, formed from the merger of the British firm Lever Brothers and the Dutch company Margarine Unie. The company develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded products in personal care, home care and foods and refreshments. Unilever’s corporate structure and listings reflect its long history in both the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and it operates at scale across diverse consumer markets worldwide.

Unilever’s business is organized around major product categories—Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care and Foods & Refreshment—and includes numerous well-known consumer brands across those categories.