Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor Purchases Shares of 1,878,175 Utz Brands, Inc. $UTZ

Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor purchased a new position in shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,878,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,462,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Utz Brands during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 431.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 118.5% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 2,362 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 363.5% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 6,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 4,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Utz Brands by 76.1% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 3,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,623 shares during the last quarter. 95.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Utz Brands Price Performance

Utz Brands stock opened at $14.16 on Monday. Utz Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.78 and a 12 month high of $14.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $10.00 and its 200-day moving average is $8.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.92 and a beta of 0.73.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $371.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $374.18 million. Utz Brands had a positive return on equity of 8.97% and a negative net margin of 2.00%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Utz Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 22nd were issued a $0.063 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Utz Brands’s payout ratio is currently -75.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on UTZ shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $14.25 price target (down from $15.00) on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $14.25 target price (up from $10.00) on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Utz Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Utz Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $14.25 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.39.

Utz Brands Profile

Utz Brands, Inc is a leading U.S. manufacturer and distributor of salty snack foods, offering a wide range of products including potato chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, popcorn and tortilla chips. Headquartered in Hanover, Pennsylvania, the company markets its snacks under several well-known brands and serves grocery, mass merchandise, club, convenience and online retailers throughout the United States.

Founded in 1921 by Bill and Salie Utz as a small country store operation, the business expanded gradually through direct delivery to local customers and sales to regional grocers.