Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $7.45, but opened at $14.08. Utz Brands shares last traded at $14.0750, with a volume of 30,105,461 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Zacks Research upgraded Utz Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Utz Brands from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $15.00 price target on Utz Brands in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.00.

Utz Brands Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of -140.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. Utz Brands had a positive return on equity of 8.61% and a negative net margin of 0.58%.The business had revenue of $361.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.76 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.16 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Utz Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.771-0.795 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Utz Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd were issued a $0.063 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 22nd. Utz Brands’s dividend payout ratio is -250.00%.

Institutional Trading of Utz Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Utz Brands by 363.5% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 6,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 4,773 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Utz Brands by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 796,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,309,000 after buying an additional 167,958 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Utz Brands by 61.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 937,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,421,000 after acquiring an additional 356,428 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in Utz Brands by 140.9% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 291,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,305,000 after acquiring an additional 170,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Utz Brands by 127.4% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 106,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $843,000 after acquiring an additional 59,623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

About Utz Brands

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.