Stock Buyback Plan Declared by Universal (NYSE:UVV) Board

Universal (NYSE:UVV) declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 7th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Universal Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of UVV opened at $52.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 0.77. Universal has a 12 month low of $45.19 and a 12 month high of $67.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $51.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $597.05 million for the quarter. Universal had a return on equity of 8.92% and a net margin of 4.31%.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.23%. Universal’s dividend payout ratio is 66.67%.

Universal Company 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.