Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Receives “Equal Weight” Rating from Stephens

Stephens reiterated their equal weight rating on shares of Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on UTZ. Zacks Research raised shares of Utz Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Utz Brands from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $15.00 price target on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.77.

Utz Brands Price Performance

Shares of Utz Brands stock opened at $14.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -141.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $7.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.38. Utz Brands has a one year low of $6.78 and a one year high of $14.67.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last released its 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 the consensus estimate of $361.76 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.16 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Utz Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.771-0.795 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Utz Brands will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Utz Brands Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Utz Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 363.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 6,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 4,773 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 26.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 796,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,309,000 after purchasing an additional 167,958 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Utz Brands by 61.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 937,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,421,000 after buying an additional 356,428 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Utz Brands by 140.9% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 291,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,305,000 after buying an additional 170,211 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Utz Brands by 127.4% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 106,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $843,000 after buying an additional 59,623 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines 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

About Utz Brands

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.