Chesapeake Capital Corp IL Takes $446,000 Position in Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV)

Chesapeake Capital Corp IL acquired a new stake in Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Universal by 57.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Universal by 8.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,830 shares during the period. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Universal in the third quarter valued at approximately $119,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Universal by 6.6% during the third quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 4,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Insight Folios Inc raised its stake in shares of Universal by 7.1% during the third quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 123,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 8,222 shares during the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Universal Price Performance

Universal stock opened at $54.45 on Monday. Universal Co. has a 12 month low of $45.19 and a 12 month high of $67.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 0.77.

Universal announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Universal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. Universal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Universal Profile

Universal Corporation processes and supplies leaf tobacco and plant-based ingredients worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Tobacco Operations; and Ingredients Operations. It is involved in the procuring, financing, processing, packing, storing, and shipping leaf tobacco for sale to manufacturers of consumer tobacco products.