Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) Stake Increased by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ – Get Rating) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,242 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 692 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Utz Brands were worth $289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Utz Brands by 236.1% during the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 4,432 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. bought a new stake in Utz Brands during the first quarter valued at $102,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Utz Brands during the third quarter valued at $111,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 10.9% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 9,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 899 shares during the period. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Utz Brands during the third quarter valued at $146,000. Institutional investors own 46.66% of the company’s stock.

Utz Brands Stock Performance

UTZ stock opened at $16.69 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 166.90, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.09. Utz Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $12.18 and a fifty-two week high of $19.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $354.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.71 million. Utz Brands had a net margin of 0.57% and a return on equity of 5.71%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Utz Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 17th were given a $0.057 dividend. This represents a $0.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 14th. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 230.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UTZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 3rd. Credit Suisse Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Thursday, March 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Utz Brands news, major shareholder Chinh Chu sold 1,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.66, for a total value of $24,990,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,648,380 shares in the company, valued at $60,782,010.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Utz Brands news, Director Roger K. Deromedi sold 2,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.01, for a total value of $54,881.87. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,372,094 shares in the company, valued at $64,103,506.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Chinh Chu sold 1,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.66, for a total transaction of $24,990,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,648,380 shares in the company, valued at $60,782,010.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,509,197 shares of company stock worth $25,164,835. 17.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Utz Brands Profile

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UTZ Brands, Inc manufactures, markets, and distributes branded snacking products. It offers a broad range of salty snacks, including potato chips, pretzels, cheese, veggie, other snacks and pork skins. The firm’s brands include Utz, Zapp’s, Golden Flake, Good Health, Boulder Canyon and Hawaiian. The company was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Hanover, PA.