Lennart Freeman Sells 1,782 Shares of Universal (NYSE:UVV) Stock

Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) Director Lennart Freeman sold 1,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.82, for a total transaction of $88,779.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $843,701.70. This trade represents a 9.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Universal Price Performance

Shares of Universal stock opened at $45.19 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.69, a P/E/G ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $52.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Universal Corporation has a 1-year low of $44.47 and a 1-year high of $59.38.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.43). The business had revenue of $523.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.00 million. Universal had a return on equity of 3.50% and a net margin of 0.67%. On average, equities analysts predict that Universal Corporation will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 12th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.3%. Universal’s payout ratio is currently 431.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on UVV shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Universal from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Universal from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Universal by 75.2% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Universal by 67.1% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its stake in shares of Universal by 1,634.4% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 555 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Universal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Universal by 265.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

More Universal News

Here are the key news stories impacting Universal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Universal’s quarterly dividend remains a major attraction for income-focused investors. The company declared a payment of $0.83 per share, or $3.32 annualized, representing a dividend yield of approximately 7.2%. However, the payout ratio is currently above 400%, making earnings recovery important for dividend sustainability.
• Positive Sentiment: Sidoti raised its estimates for Universal’s fiscal third-quarter and fourth-quarter 2028 earnings to $1.87 and $1.16 per share, respectively, from $1.77 and $1.12. These increases suggest the analyst expects some improvement in later periods.
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 81% of Universal’s shares, and several firms recently increased their positions. Zacks Research also upgraded the stock from “strong sell” to “hold.” These developments may provide some ownership support but do not change the company’s weak near-term earnings picture.
• Negative Sentiment: Sidoti sharply reduced its fiscal 2027 EPS forecast to $3.18 from $4.30 and its fiscal 2028 forecast to $3.95 from $4.38. The firm also cut its fiscal second-quarter 2027 estimate to $0.58 from $1.22 and its fiscal first-quarter 2028 estimate to a $0.02 loss from $0.27 in earnings. The broad estimate reductions point to lower expected profitability. Universal analyst estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Universal’s latest quarterly results missed expectations by a wide margin. The company reported a loss of $0.18 per share versus analysts’ projected profit of $0.25, while revenue of $523.8 million trailed the $587.0 million consensus. The miss has weakened confidence in near-term operating performance.
• Negative Sentiment: Director Lennart Freeman sold 1,782 shares for approximately $88,800, reducing his direct stake by 9.5%. Although the sale may have been routine, it adds a modest negative signal following the earnings miss. SEC Form 4 insider transaction
• Neutral Sentiment: A proposed federal bill targeting youth vaping and tobacco use could modestly affect Universal through broader tobacco-demand trends, but its focus is emerging nicotine products rather than tobacco-leaf supply. The direct impact on UVV appears limited.

About Universal

Universal Corporation (NYSE: UVV) is a global agribusiness company primarily engaged in the procurement, processing and sale of leaf tobacco. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company sources cured leaf tobacco from key growing regions in North and South America, Africa and Asia. Universal serves major multinational tobacco manufacturers by providing a full range of services including inventory management, quality control and logistics support to ensure a consistent and reliable supply of tobacco leaf.

In addition to its core leaf tobacco operations, Universal offers integrated supply-chain services that encompass warehousing, distribution and ingredient sourcing for smokeless and novel tobacco products.