Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,440,000 shares, a decrease of 26.1% from the February 13th total of 7,360,000 shares. Approximately 7.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,040,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UTZ has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Utz Brands from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Utz Brands from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Utz Brands from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Utz Brands from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Utz Brands from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Utz Brands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Utz Brands

In other news, insider Cc Collier Holdings, Llc sold 496,038 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.40, for a total transaction of $6,646,909.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Howard A. Friedman acquired 3,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $14.16 per share, for a total transaction of $49,914.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 265,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,762,722.64. This trade represents a 1.34 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 17.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Newton One Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Utz Brands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Utz Brands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Utz Brands by 112.7% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 4,078 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Utz Brands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $169,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Utz Brands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $183,000. 95.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Utz Brands Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of UTZ stock opened at $13.47 on Tuesday. Utz Brands has a 52-week low of $12.71 and a 52-week high of $20.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.86, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.03. Utz Brands had a net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The business had revenue of $341.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.16 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Utz Brands will post 0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Utz Brands Company Profile

Utz Brands, Inc engages in manufacture, marketing, and distribution of snack foods. It offers a range of salty snacks, including salty snacks, including potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, pork skins, veggie snacks, pub/party mixes, tortilla chips, salsa and dips, ready-to-eat popcorn, and other snacks under the Utz, Zapp’s, ON THE BORDER, Golden Flake, Boulder Canyon, Hawaiian, TORTIYAHS!, etc.