Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

UTZ has been the topic of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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 report on Tuesday, July 21st. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Utz Brands from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $14.25 price objective (up from $10.00) on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research upgraded Utz Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on Utz Brands in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.39.

Utz Brands Stock Performance

UTZ opened at $14.10 on Friday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $7.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.46. Utz Brands has a 1-year low of $6.78 and a 1-year high of $14.44. The company has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -140.94 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Utz Brands

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Utz Brands by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,679,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,718,000 after buying an additional 252,876 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,085,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,370,000 after buying an additional 413,493 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 4,063,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,183,000 after buying an additional 613,699 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 42.3% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,946,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,979,000 after acquiring an additional 875,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 105.2% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,414,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,066,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,180 shares in the last quarter. 95.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Utz Brands News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target to $14.25, implying the stock is trading near the proposed buyout value and suggesting limited additional downside from current levels.
• Neutral Sentiment: Utz announced it will go private in a $2.9 billion transaction with Intersnack Group, giving the buyer a major U.S. snacking foothold and effectively setting a deal price ceiling for the shares.
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms are investigating the merger, with Brodsky & Smith, Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, and Kaskela Law all questioning whether the $14.25 offer undervalues Utz Brands shareholders. Article: Brodsky & Smith Shareholder Update
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler downgraded Utz Brands from strong-buy to hold, while DA Davidson cut its rating from buy to hold and Barclays and Stephens both downgraded the stock to equal weight, reflecting more cautious views after the deal announcement.

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.