Vestcor Inc Raises Stake in Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ)

Vestcor Inc boosted its stake in shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ - Free Report) by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 296,100 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 30,400 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc owned approximately 0.21% of Utz Brands worth $5,241,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UTZ. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 16,491 shares of the company's stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 848 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 11.6% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,838 shares of the company's stock worth $197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in shares of Utz Brands by 4.5% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 44,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in shares of Utz Brands during the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Utz Brands by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 37,155 shares of the company's stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 2,802 shares during the last quarter. 95.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Utz Brands Price Performance

UTZ stock traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $17.20. 552,146 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 746,828. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $17.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Utz Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.76 and a 52-week high of $20.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -92.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.01.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. Utz Brands had a positive return on equity of 7.25% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The business had revenue of $365.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.061 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. This is an increase from Utz Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Utz Brands's payout ratio is currently -126.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Cary Devore sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.32, for a total value of $519,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 451,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,813,346.44. This trade represents a 6.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cc Collier Holdings, Llc sold 2,815,404 shares of Utz Brands stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.29, for a total transaction of $48,678,335.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 496,038 shares in the company, valued at $8,576,497.02. The trade was a 85.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UTZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Utz Brands from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Utz Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.22.

Utz Brands Profile

Utz Brands, Inc engages in manufacture, marketing, and distribution of snack foods. It offers a range of salty snacks, including salty snacks, including potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, pork skins, veggie snacks, pub/party mixes, tortilla chips, salsa and dips, ready-to-eat popcorn, and other snacks under the Utz, Zapp's, ON THE BORDER, Golden Flake, Boulder Canyon, Hawaiian, TORTIYAHS!, etc.