Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) Declares $0.82 Quarterly Dividend

Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.82 per share on Monday, May 4th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th.

Universal has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 56 years.

Universal Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Universal stock opened at $58.87 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. Universal has a 12-month low of $49.96 and a 12-month high of $67.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.07.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $754.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $704.30 million. Universal had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 3.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on UVV shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Universal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut Universal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Universal Company Profile

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.