Utz Brands, Inc. (UTZ) AI Stock Analysis

Founded in 1921 and headquartered in Hanover, Pennsylvania, Utz Brands, Inc. manufactures and markets salty snacks. Its product portfolio spans potato chips, kettle chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, veggie snacks, pork skins, and party mixes, alongside salsa, queso, and ready-to-eat popcorn. Products sell under brand names including Zapp's, ON THE BORDER, Golden Flake, Good Health, Boulder Canyon, Hawaiian, TGIF, and TORTIYAHS!. Utz distributes products across the United States to grocery stores, mass retailers, club stores, convenience stores, and drugstores through direct shipments, distributors, and direct store delivery routes.

Between FY2020 and FY2025, Utz achieved a 5-year revenue CAGR of 13.4%. Annual revenue grew 53.7% in FY2021 to $1.18B and 19.3% in FY2022 to $1.41B, before slowing to 2.1% in FY2023 at $1.44B. In FY2024, revenue declined 2.0% to $1.41B, but rebounded by 2.1% in FY2025 to $1.44B. Gross margin contracted from 35.1% in FY2024 to 22.4% in FY2025, while operating margin expanded to 6.8%. Net income was $800,000 in FY2025 with EPS of $0.82. In the latest quarter ended June 30, 2026, quarterly revenue grew 1.4% year-over-year, while quarterly earnings dropped 47.8%.

As of June 30, 2026, Utz held $58.6M in cash and short-term investments against $1.03B in total debt, resulting in net debt of $971.9M. Total assets stood at $2.78B compared to shareholders' equity of $695.9M, producing a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.06. In FY2025, operating cash flow reached $112.2M and free cash flow was $9.4M. Capital expenditures totaled $102.8M, while Utz spent $22.3M on dividends and $2.2M on share buybacks.

At a market capitalization of $1.27B and enterprise value of $2.23B, Utz trades at a forward P/E of 17.4x, above the 14.3x median of its US-listed Consumer Defensive peers. Its EV to EBITDA ratio of 23.0x and price-to-sales of 1.4x also trade above peer group medians of 11.7x and 0.7x, respectively. The stock's trailing twelve months operating margin of 2.1% is below the peer median of 9.8%. Over the past year, UTZ returned 19.2%, outperforming the S&P 500 (SPY) return of 16.8%, but its 5-year return of -2.5% lags SPY's 83.0% gain.

Utz pays a quarterly dividend with an annualized forward rate of $0.25, providing a dividend yield of 1.76%. The payout ratio stands at 30.4%. Utz has paid dividends for 7 consecutive years, posting a 5-year annualized dividend growth rate of 18.5%. The last ex-dividend date was September 21, 2026.

Wall Street coverage consists of 1 Buy, 9 Hold ratings, and zero Sell ratings. The mean price target of $14.31 sits 0.2% above the last close of $14.29. For the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026, analysts estimate revenue of $1.49B and EPS of $0.78, representing an EPS decline of 5.3%. For the next fiscal year, consensus projects revenue of $1.51B and EPS of $0.83. Utz beat EPS estimates in 2 of the last 4 quarters, and its next earnings date is October 29, 2026.

This page is an AI-written research summary of Utz Brands, Inc. (UTZ). The text was generated on October 30, 2026 from Quotelinks data as of October 16, 2026 (company profile, annual results, latest balance sheet, valuation, price performance and analyst estimates). An automatic check rejects any draft that contains a figure not found in that data. It is not investment advice; verify figures on the linked tabs before making decisions.

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