Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Universal Corporation $UVV

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,948,411 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,180 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Universal worth $164,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Universal by 265.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Universal during the second quarter worth $44,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Universal by 63.2% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Universal by 32.6% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Universal by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 2,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. 81.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Universal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Universal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Universal from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Universal Price Performance

Shares of UVV opened at $53.45 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $54.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.03. Universal Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.96 and a twelve month high of $67.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.92 by ($0.57). Universal had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 2.93%.The business had revenue of $861.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $927.20 million.

Universal Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. Universal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.76%.

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.