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

Universal (NYSE:UVV) announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Universal Stock Performance

Shares of Universal stock opened at $52.04 on Friday. Universal has a one year low of $45.19 and a one year high of $67.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

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

Universal Announces Dividend

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