Robert Sledd Sells 2,845 Shares of Universal (NYSE:UVV) Stock

Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) Director Robert Sledd sold 2,845 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.12, for a total transaction of $153,971.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,959 shares in the company, valued at approximately $647,221.08. The trade was a 19.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Universal Stock Performance

UVV opened at $52.94 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 3.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.04, a PEG ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.59. Universal Corporation has a 52-week low of $49.19 and a 52-week high of $61.60. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.50.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The company reported ($0.46) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($1.54). The business had revenue of $715.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $728.20 million. Universal had a net margin of 1.12% and a return on equity of 4.43%. Equities analysts anticipate that Universal Corporation will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 13th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. This is a positive change from Universal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 13th. Universal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 254.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Universal by 75.2% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 466 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Universal by 67.1% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its position in Universal by 1,634.4% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 555 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Universal during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Universal by 265.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UVV. Zacks Research cut shares of Universal from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Universal from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Universal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

About Universal

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.