Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Hits New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $8.71 and last traded at $8.72, with a volume of 426121 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $9.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UTZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Utz Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Mizuho set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Utz Brands in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Utz Brands from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Utz Brands currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.86.

Utz Brands Stock Down 2.7%

The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 877.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day moving average of $10.11 and a 200 day moving average of $11.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Utz Brands had a net margin of 0.06% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The firm had revenue of $342.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $346.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Utz Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.771-0.795 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.063 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This is a positive change from Utz Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2,500.00%.

Institutional Trading of Utz Brands

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UTZ. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake 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 valued at $3,504,000 after acquiring an additional 70,739 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,190 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 40.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,022,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,480,000 after buying an additional 585,952 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 196,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,760,000 after buying an additional 52,285 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Utz Brands by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 873,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,957,000 after buying an additional 22,860 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

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.