Universal Corporation (UVV)
NYSE:UVV
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Universal
(NYSE:UVV)
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Rating:56Neutral
Price Target:
$53.00
▼(-2.32% Downside)
Action:ReiteratedDate:02/10/26
The score is primarily held back by weaker financial performance (sharp TTM revenue drop, rising leverage, and volatile/declining free cash flow). Technicals also reflect a weak trend with the stock below major moving averages. Offsetting factors include an attractive dividend yield and a moderate P/E, while the latest earnings call was balanced—strategic progress and liquidity improvements, but continued near-term earnings and margin pressure.
Positive Factors
Market position — tobacco supply
Universal's leading role as a global tobacco supplier and continued firm customer demand underpin durable revenue baselines. Expanded third-party processing and long regional sourcing relationships support resilience versus cyclical shocks, preserving bargaining power and shipment stability over the medium term.
Negative Factors
Sustained revenue decline
A marked TTM revenue decline and continuing quarterly drops indicate weakening top-line momentum that erodes operating leverage. Persistent revenue contraction limits reinvestment, stresses fixed-cost absorption, and heightens reliance on cost cuts or portfolio shifts to restore sustainable profit growth over the medium term.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Market position — tobacco supply
Universal's leading role as a global tobacco supplier and continued firm customer demand underpin durable revenue baselines. Expanded third-party processing and long regional sourcing relationships support resilience versus cyclical shocks, preserving bargaining power and shipment stability over the medium term.
Read all positive factors
Universal (UVV) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$1.29B
Dividend Yield6.15%
Average Volume (3M)223.25K
Price to Earnings (P/E)9.9
Beta (1Y)0.26
Revenue Growth3.01%
EPS Growth-7.14%
CountryUS
Employees10,800
SectorConsumer Defensive
Sector Strength42
IndustryTobacco
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)1.35
Shares Outstanding24,923,496
10 Day Avg. Volume236,953
30 Day Avg. Volume223,255
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio-0.71
Price to Book (P/B)0.96
Price to Sales (P/S)0.47
P/FCF Ratio5.29
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.81
Enterprise Value/Revenue0.80
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit4.43
Enterprise Value/Ebitda8.26
Forecast
1Y Price TargetN/A
Price Target UpsideN/A
Rating ConsensusN/A
Number of Analyst Covering0
EPS Forecast (FY)4.7
Revenue Forecast (FY)$3.01B
Universal Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
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, pack...
How the Company Makes Money
Universal Corporation generates revenue primarily through the sale of tobacco leaf, which is its core product. The company sources tobacco from various regions, processes it, and then sells it to major tobacco manufacturers around the world. Key r...
Universal Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Feb 09, 2026
(Q3-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:May 27, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Neutral
The call presents a mixed picture. Universal Corporation highlighted clear strategic progress — notable ingredients revenue growth, successful completion of a major facility expansion, meaningful sustainability gains, and a strengthened credit facility and liquidity position. However, near-term financial performance showed material pressure: quarterly and year-to-date declines in consolidated revenue, operating income and net income, a steep reduction in ingredients operating profitability, tariff and CPG demand headwinds, and inventory write-downs. The company emphasizes its long-term strategic investments and resilience in tobacco operations, but near-term margin and earnings weakness balance against those positives.Positive Updates
Ingredients Revenue Growth and New Product Momentum
Ingredients operations revenue increased to $265.2M for the nine months (vs $249.0M prior year), a +6.5% year-over-year improvement. Management stated sales of new/value-added products are meaningful and that ingredients sales are up ~7% year-to-date vs. prior year, reflecting progress converting product development and commercial investments into revenue.
Negative Updates
Quarterly Consolidated Revenue and Profit Declines
Consolidated third-quarter revenue declined to $861.3M from $937.2M year-over-year, a -8.1% decrease. Third-quarter operating income fell to $82.0M from $104.1M (-21.2%), and net income dropped to $33.2M from $59.6M (-44.3%).
Read all updates
Q3-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Ingredients Revenue Growth and New Product Momentum
Ingredients operations revenue increased to $265.2M for the nine months (vs $249.0M prior year), a +6.5% year-over-year improvement. Management stated sales of new/value-added products are meaningful and that ingredients sales are up ~7% year-to-date vs. prior year, reflecting progress converting product development and commercial investments into revenue.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Management's guidance emphasized confidence in executing strategy while noting outcomes will depend on mix and timing: they reiterated they are positioned to scale Universal Ingredients to absorb higher fixed costs (Lancaster expansion) and aim to grow sales (new-product sales up ~7% year-to-date) even as tariff and CPG weakness compress margins, and said pricing may "catch up" to higher tariff costs over coming quarters; Johan noted the year-to-date results through Dec. 31, 2025: consolidated revenue $2.21B (vs. $2.25B prior year), operating income $183.4M (vs. $190M), net income $75.9M (vs. $85.7M); Q3 consolidated revenue $861.3M (vs. $937.2M), operating income $82M (vs. $104.1M), net income $33.2M (vs. $59.6M); Tobacco YTD revenue $1.94B (vs. $2.0B) and segment op. income $185M (vs. $194.4M), Q3 tobacco revenue $779.9M (vs. $853.9M) and op. income $84M (vs. $102.6M); Ingredients YTD revenue $265.2M (vs. $249M) with op. income $1.4M (vs. $7.9M), Q3 ingredients revenue $81.3M (vs. $83.3M) with a $0.1M segment loss (vs. $3.7M income); balance sheet actions expand flexibility (credit facility upsized +$250M, liquidity availability $917M, net debt $995M vs. $945M prior year), unsold/burley stock ~102M kilos, renewable electricity ~17.7% (nearly 6x year over year), and a tax-rate range to model roughly 28–32% (ticking up), while outcomes such as exiting FY26 with tobacco margins near FY25 depend on shipment timing and mix.Universal Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
64
Positive
Balance Sheet
58
Neutral
Cash Flow
46
Neutral
| Breakdown | TTM | Mar 2025 | Mar 2024 | Mar 2023 | Mar 2022 | Mar 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 2.91B | 2.95B | 2.75B | 2.57B | 2.10B | 1.98B |
| Gross Profit | 529.07M | 548.88M | 536.10M | 458.29M | 408.93M | 386.00M |
| EBITDA | 283.52M | 301.05M | 288.68M | 248.57M | 222.53M | 195.41M |
| Net Income | 85.25M | 95.05M | 119.60M | 124.05M | 86.58M | 87.41M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 3.02B | 2.99B | 2.94B | 2.64B | 2.59B | 2.34B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 85.23M | 260.12M | 55.59M | 64.69M | 81.65M | 197.22M |
| Total Debt | 1.11B | 1.10B | 1.06B | 849.32M | 741.11M | 647.09M |
| Total Liabilities | 1.49B | 1.49B | 1.46B | 1.20B | 1.20B | 993.50M |
| Stockholders Equity | 1.48B | 1.46B | 1.44B | 1.40B | 1.34B | 1.31B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 52.69M | 264.37M | -140.65M | -65.23M | -8.32M | 154.26M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 100.71M | 326.97M | -74.63M | -10.56M | 44.88M | 220.41M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -39.67M | -58.82M | -60.00M | -50.35M | -142.66M | -217.27M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -191.80M | -63.23M | 125.67M | 38.95M | -16.76M | 91.39M |
Universal Technical Analysis
Negative
54.26
Price Trends
53.94
Negative
53.08
Negative
53.45
Negative
Market Momentum
-0.62
Positive
44.10
Neutral
26.33
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For UVV, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 54.26 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 52.58, above the 50-day MA of 53.94, and above the 200-day MA of 53.45, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -0.62 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 44.10 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 26.33 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for UVV.
Universal Risk Analysis
Universal disclosed 27 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Universal reported the most risks in the "Legal & Regulatory" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Universal Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (62)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
74 Outperform | $2.69B | 22.23 | 5.73% | 0.35% | 51.49% | 21.43% | |
69 Neutral | $126.31B | 7.23 | 16.33% | 5.22% | 0.48% | ― | |
69 Neutral | $257.63B | 21.99 | -103.69% | 3.59% | 7.72% | -12.45% | |
66 Neutral | $106.63B | 13.92 | -215.18% | 7.02% | -0.96% | -11.42% | |
62 Neutral | $20.33B | 14.63 | -3.31% | 3.23% | 1.93% | -12.26% | |
59 Neutral | $1.69B | 34.13 | 20.84% | 0.28% | 6.71% | 8.16% | |
56 Neutral | $1.29B | 9.94 | 5.81% | 6.15% | 3.01% | -7.14% |
* Consumer Defensive Sector Average
UVV
Universal
51.95
-1.18
-2.23%
MO
Altria Group
63.78
9.31
17.10%
BTI
British American Tobacco
58.45
19.78
51.16%
PM
Philip Morris
165.50
15.79
10.55%
TPB
Turning Point Brands
88.39
29.61
50.37%
RLX
RLX Technology
2.21
0.34
18.06%
Universal Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board ChangesFinancial DisclosuresPrivate Placements and Financing
Universal Names New CFO Amid Strategic Financial Transition
Positive
Feb 9, 2026
Universal Corporation reported on February 9, 2026, that it delivered solid consolidated performance for the nine months and quarter ended December 31, 2025, supported by strong tobacco operations and firm customer demand, even as industry conditi...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
Universal CFO succession plan shifts after withdrawn hire
Negative
Jan 29, 2026
On January 20, 2026, Universal Corporation’s board elected Anubhav Mittal as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, with the appointment set to be effective February 17, 2026, but the company withdrew its offer of employment on J...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
Universal appoints new chief financial officer and leader
Positive
Jan 21, 2026
On January 21, 2026, Universal Corporation announced the appointment of Anubhav Mittal as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective February 17, 2026, marking the conclusion of its previously disclosed CFO search and setting up ...
Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and Financing
Universal Secures New Credit Agreement with Banks
Positive
Dec 9, 2025
On December 9, 2025, Universal Corporation entered into a new unsecured Credit Agreement with several banks, including JPMorgan Chase Bank and Truist Bank, to secure a five-year term loan A-1 facility of $275 million, a seven-year term loan A-2 fa...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.