Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Lowered to Hold Rating by Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler lowered shares of Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on UTZ. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of Utz Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Utz Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $14.25 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $14.25 target price on shares of Utz Brands in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Utz Brands in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.39.

Utz Brands Price Performance

Shares of Utz Brands stock opened at $14.09 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $7.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.43. Utz Brands has a twelve month low of $6.78 and a twelve month high of $14.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -140.84, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Utz Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd were paid a $0.063 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. 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 modified their holdings of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Utz Brands in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Utz Brands by 76.1% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 3,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 2,362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake 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 valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 4,773 shares during the last quarter. 95.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Utz Brands News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Utz Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Utz agreed to be acquired in a $2.9 billion take-private deal by Intersnack Group, giving shareholders a fixed cash exit near $14.25 per share and driving the stock closer to the deal price. Utz Will Go Private in $2.9B Deal With Intersnack
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler reaffirmed a neutral rating but raised its price target to $14.25 from $10.00, suggesting the market may have already largely priced in the transaction value. Piper Sandler rating update
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple law firms have announced investigations into whether the $14.25 buyout price is fair to current UTZ shareholders. These reviews do not change the deal itself, but they can add headline risk and uncertainty around the closing process. UTZ Notification: Utz Brands Investigated Over $14.25 per share Transaction
• Negative Sentiment: Several brokerages, including DA Davidson, Barclays, and Stephens, downgraded UTZ to weaker ratings after the deal announcement, reflecting limited upside beyond the takeover price and potential execution risk before closing. Barclays Downgrades Utz Brands to Equal Weight

Utz Brands Company 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.