Mizuho Raises Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Price Target to $24.00

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) had its price target increased by Mizuho from $22.00 to $24.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Utz Brands in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a neutral rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Utz Brands from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Bank of America raised shares of Utz Brands from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Utz Brands from $20.50 to $22.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Utz Brands from $13.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $19.83.

Utz Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UTZ opened at $19.24 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $18.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.22. Utz Brands has a 1-year low of $11.17 and a 1-year high of $20.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a PE ratio of -76.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.97.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.01. Utz Brands had a negative net margin of 1.38% and a positive return on equity of 6.13%. The company had revenue of $346.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $346.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Utz Brands will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a $0.059 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. This is a positive change from Utz Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently -92.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Chinh Chu sold 92,226 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.80, for a total value of $1,641,622.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,556,154 shares in the company, valued at $63,299,541.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Chinh Chu sold 92,226 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.80, for a total value of $1,641,622.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,556,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,299,541.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Roger K. Deromedi sold 32,052 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.10, for a total transaction of $612,193.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,516,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,168,053.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 609,181 shares of company stock valued at $10,754,925. Corporate insiders own 17.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Utz Brands

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Utz Brands by 120.2% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 1,891 shares during the last quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN boosted its position in shares of Utz Brands by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Utz Brands by 1,428.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 5,115 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Utz Brands during the third quarter worth approximately $136,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Utz Brands by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares during the period. 95.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Utz Brands Company Profile

Utz Brands, Inc engages in manufacture, marketing, and distribution of snack foods. It offers a range of salty snacks, including salty snacks, including potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, pork skins, veggie snacks, pub/party mixes, tortilla chips, salsa and dips, ready-to-eat popcorn, and other snacks under the Utz, Zapp's, ON THE BORDER, Golden Flake, Boulder Canyon, Hawaiian, TORTIYAHS!, etc.