First Trust Capital Management L.P. Buys 1,846,516 Shares of Utz Brands, Inc. $UTZ

First Trust Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,846,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,313,000. Utz Brands comprises about 1.3% of First Trust Capital Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. First Trust Capital Management L.P. owned 1.28% of Utz Brands as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Utz Brands by 17.8% during the first quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 4,063,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,183,000 after purchasing an additional 613,699 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings 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 worth $6,309,000 after purchasing an additional 167,958 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 195.5% in the 1st quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 849,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,728,000 after purchasing an additional 561,961 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Utz Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,068,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 356,428 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on UTZ shares. Weiss Ratings raised Utz Brands from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $14.25 target price on shares of Utz Brands in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Utz Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Stephens set a $14.25 price target on shares of Utz Brands in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Utz Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $14.25 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.39.

Utz Brands Stock Performance

Utz Brands stock opened at $14.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of -33.20 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.61. Utz Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.78 and a twelve month high of $14.36.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last posted its quarterly 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). Utz Brands had a negative net margin of 2.67% and a positive return on equity of 7.64%. The business had revenue of $369.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $384.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.80 EPS for the current year.

Utz Brands Dividend Announcement

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

About Utz Brands

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.