First Trust Capital Management L.P. Acquires New Position in Utz Brands, Inc. $UTZ

First Trust Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,846,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,313,000. Utz Brands accounts for 1.3% of First Trust Capital Management L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UTZ. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor purchased a new position in shares of Utz Brands in the second quarter worth $14,462,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Utz Brands by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 4,063,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,183,000 after buying an additional 613,699 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its holdings in Utz Brands by 195.5% during the 1st quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 849,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,728,000 after buying an additional 561,961 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Utz Brands by 61.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 937,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,421,000 after buying an additional 356,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Utz Brands by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,998,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,824,000 after buying an additional 355,460 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

Utz Brands Price Performance

Shares of UTZ stock opened at $14.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.20 and a beta of 0.79. Utz Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.78 and a fifty-two week high of $14.36. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $14.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $369.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $384.60 million. Utz Brands had a negative net margin of 2.67% and a positive return on equity of 7.64%. Utz Brands’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.80 earnings per share for the current year.

Utz Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a $0.0630 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Utz Brands’s payout ratio is -58.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UTZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut shares of Utz Brands from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $10.00 to $14.25 in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Utz Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $14.25 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Utz Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Utz Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $14.25 in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Stephens set a $14.25 target price on shares of Utz Brands 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.39.

Utz Brands Company Profile

Utz Brands, Inc. makes and markets snack foods, including potato chips, pretzels, tortilla chips, popcorn, pork rinds and cheese snacks. Its portfolio includes Utz, Zapp’s, Boulder Canyon, On The Border and Golden Flake, among other brands. Founded in 1921 by William and Salie Utz in Hanover, Pennsylvania, the company began as a family-operated potato chip business and has grown through expansion and acquisitions. Utz is headquartered in Hanover. The company sells its products across the United States, with a longstanding presence in the eastern U.S. Its products reach consumers through grocery and convenience stores, mass retailers, club stores, and other retail and food-service channels.