Universal (NYSE:UVV) Announces Earnings Results

Universal (NYSE:UVV) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.43), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $523.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.00 million. Universal had a net margin of 0.67% and a return on equity of 3.50%.

Universal Stock Performance

Shares of Universal stock opened at $44.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.30. Universal has a fifty-two week low of $43.36 and a fifty-two week high of $59.38. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.29, a P/E/G ratio of 13.88 and a beta of 0.58.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Universal’s dividend payout ratio is 431.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Universal from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Universal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Universal from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Insider Transactions at Universal

In other Universal news, Director Lennart Freeman sold 1,782 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.82, for a total value of $88,779.24. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $843,701.70. This trade represents a 9.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Universal Company Profile

Universal Corporation (NYSE: UVV) is a global agricultural company that supplies processed tobacco leaf and related products to manufacturers of cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, heated tobacco products and other tobacco products. The company purchases tobacco from growers, provides agronomic and technical support, and processes, blends, packs and stores leaf tobacco to meet customers’ specifications.

Through its Universal Leaf Tobacco subsidiaries and affiliated operations, Universal serves tobacco markets across multiple regions, including North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia.