Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Lowers Stake in Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC cut its position in Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 85,577 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,893 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC owned about 0.06% of Utz Brands worth $1,515,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UTZ. Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new stake in Utz Brands in the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Utz Brands during the second quarter worth about $80,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Utz Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $103,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Utz Brands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $142,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Utz Brands in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $185,000. 95.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Utz Brands Trading Up 2.8 %

UTZ stock opened at $17.74 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $17.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.99. Utz Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.17 and a fifty-two week high of $20.04. The firm has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a PE ratio of -93.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. Utz Brands had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 7.25%. The business had revenue of $365.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.98 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.061 per share. This is a boost from Utz Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Utz Brands’s payout ratio is presently -126.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UTZ. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Utz Brands from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Utz Brands from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Cc Collier Holdings, Llc sold 2,815,404 shares of Utz Brands stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.29, for a total transaction of $48,678,335.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 496,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,576,497.02. The trade was a 85.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Cary Devore sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.32, for a total transaction of $519,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 451,117 shares in the company, valued at $7,813,346.44. The trade was a 6.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Utz Brands 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.