Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by DA Davidson

DA Davidson lowered shares of Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on UTZ. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Utz Brands from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research upgraded Utz Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Utz Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $14.25 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens set a $14.25 target price on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.27.

Utz Brands Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of UTZ stock opened at $14.06 on Wednesday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $7.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of -140.64, a PEG 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 $14.67.

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

Utz Brands Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Utz Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its stake in Utz Brands by 105.2% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,414,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,066,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,180 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Utz Brands by 249.9% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,658,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,215,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,571 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 42.3% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,946,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,979,000 after purchasing an additional 875,847 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 261.5% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 994,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,322,000 after purchasing an additional 719,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 17.8% in the first quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 4,063,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,183,000 after purchasing an additional 613,699 shares in the last quarter. 95.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Utz Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Utz Brands agreed to be acquired by Intersnack Group for $14.25 per share in cash, sending the stock sharply higher on the takeover premium. Utz Brands to be taken private by Germany’s Intersnack Group
• Positive Sentiment: The deal price implies a roughly 91% premium, which is driving heavy trading and optimism that shareholders will receive a sizable cash payout if the transaction closes. Utz Brands to Be Taken Private in $2.9 Billion Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Several market reports highlighted that packaged-food peers also benefited from the buyout news, reinforcing the view that the transaction confirms strategic value in the snack category. Packaged food stocks perk up after Utz Brands buyout
• Neutral Sentiment: Law firms have launched investigations into whether the sale process and price were fair to public shareholders, which is common in take-private deals but could create headline risk. Shareholder Alert: The M&A Class Action Firm Announces An Investigation of Utz Brands, Inc.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades from Barclays and Stephens to “equal weight” suggest limited upside from here given the deal price is near the expected value. Utz Brands was downgraded by Barclays PLC

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.