Universal Corporation $UVV Shares Sold by Pzena Investment Management LLC

Pzena Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) by 32.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 337,504 shares of the company’s stock after selling 159,475 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.36% of Universal worth $18,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Universal by 265.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Universal in the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Universal by 63.2% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Universal by 32.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Universal by 14.0% during the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 2,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

Universal Stock Up 1.0%

UVV opened at $53.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.91. The company has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.66. Universal Corporation has a one year low of $49.96 and a one year high of $67.33. The business’s fifty day moving average is $54.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.00.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.92 by ($0.57). The firm had revenue of $861.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $927.20 million. Universal had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 2.93%.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. Universal’s dividend payout ratio is 96.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Universal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Universal from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Universal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce”.

About Universal

Universal Corporation (NYSE: UVV) is a global agribusiness company primarily engaged in the procurement, processing and sale of leaf tobacco. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company sources cured leaf tobacco from key growing regions in North and South America, Africa and Asia. Universal serves major multinational tobacco manufacturers by providing a full range of services including inventory management, quality control and logistics support to ensure a consistent and reliable supply of tobacco leaf.

In addition to its core leaf tobacco operations, Universal offers integrated supply-chain services that encompass warehousing, distribution and ingredient sourcing for smokeless and novel tobacco products.