Want to see UVV full AI Analyst Report?
Top Page
Universal
(NYSE:UVV)
Select Model
Select Model
Rating:49Neutral
Price Target:
$39.00
▼(-15.01% Downside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:10/21/26
UVV scores below average primarily due to deteriorating profitability and weak technical momentum (below key moving averages with negative MACD). The score is partly supported by improved recent free cash flow and a very high dividend yield, while the latest earnings call provides some offsetting optimism around liquidity and expected margin normalization despite clear near-term operating pressure.
Positive Factors
Global sourcing and customer positioning
Universal’s multi-origin sourcing capabilities, regional expertise, and close customer relationships support its ability to meet required tobacco quality and volumes. This positioning can protect customer relevance and market share through changing crop conditions and industry oversupply.
Negative Factors
Severe profitability deterioration
The sharp decline in revenue and operating income shows that Universal’s current earnings base is vulnerable to adverse product mix, purchasing delays, and operating pressure. Persistently weak profitability would constrain reinvestment, debt reduction, and dividend support.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Global sourcing and customer positioning
Universal’s multi-origin sourcing capabilities, regional expertise, and close customer relationships support its ability to meet required tobacco quality and volumes. This positioning can protect customer relevance and market share through changing crop conditions and industry oversupply.
Read all positive factors
Universal Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Any
Operating Income by Segment
Measures operating profit for each segment to show which parts of the business actually generate earnings after costs; exposes margin differences, operational efficiency, and segments that are subsidizing others—critical for forecasting earnings, dividend capacity, and where cost cuts or investment can improve returns.
Measures operating profit for each segment to show which parts of the business actually generate earnings after costs; exposes margin differences, operational efficiency, and segments that are subsidizing others—critical for forecasting earnings, dividend capacity, and where cost cuts or investment can improve returns.
Data provided by:
The Fly
The FlyUniversal (UVV) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$951.65M
Dividend Yield8.63%
Average Volume (3M)354.67K
Price to Earnings (P/E)50.3
Beta (1Y)0.12
Revenue Growth-3.04%
EPS Growth-81.53%
CountryUS
Employees11,250
SectorConsumer Defensive
Sector Strength42
IndustryTobacco
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)0.76
Shares Outstanding24,899,258
10 Day Avg. Volume344,372
30 Day Avg. Volume354,671
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio-0.62
Price to Book (P/B)0.93
Price to Sales (P/S)0.45
P/FCF Ratio16.45
Enterprise Value/Market Cap2.51
Enterprise Value/Revenue0.84
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit4.97
Enterprise Value/Ebitda12.17
Forecast
1Y Price TargetN/A
Price Target UpsideN/A
Rating ConsensusN/A
Number of Analyst Covering0
EPS Forecast (FY)3.18
Revenue Forecast (FY)$2.72B
Universal Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Universal Corporation is a global agricultural enterprise specializing in the processing and supply of leaf tobacco and a diverse range of plant-based ingredients. Its activities are organized into two primary segments: Tobacco Operations and Ingr...
How the Company Makes Money
Universal makes money mainly by selling products and services through two operating segments.
1) Tobacco Operations (primary revenue and earnings driver):
- Sale of processed leaf tobacco: Universal purchases leaf tobacco from growers or local ma...
Universal Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Aug 05, 2026
(Q1-2027)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Oct 29, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Neutral
The call was mixed. Current financial performance was materially weaker, with double-digit declines in consolidated and tobacco revenue, sharply lower operating income, a consolidated net loss, tobacco-market oversupply, and ongoing ingredients headwinds. However, management maintained its full-year tobacco sales plan, reported strong liquidity, described disciplined sourcing and inventory initiatives, expected normalized tobacco margins, and reiterated long-term investment and improvement plans for both tobacco and ingredients. The positive strategic outlook and liquidity position were balanced by significant current-period declines and execution challenges.Positive Updates
Full-Year Tobacco Sales Plan Maintained
Management said customer demand expectations and customer indications remain consistent with the fiscal year sales plan, with shipments expected to be weighted more heavily toward the second half of fiscal year 2027.
Negative Updates
Tobacco Revenue and Operating Income Decline
Tobacco operations revenue was $437 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027, down 13% year over year. Segment operating income was $3.5 million versus $35.7 million in the prior-year quarter. Management cited more pronounced seasonality, delayed customer purchasing decisions following the shift to oversupply, lower tobacco carryover crop sales, less favorable product mix, and a $4.4 million negative operating-income variance from foreign-currency movements.
Read all updates
Q1-2027 Updates
Positive
Negative
Full-Year Tobacco Sales Plan Maintained
Management said customer demand expectations and customer indications remain consistent with the fiscal year sales plan, with shipments expected to be weighted more heavily toward the second half of fiscal year 2027.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Management said customer demand expectations remain consistent with the fiscal year sales plan, with shipments expected to be weighted more heavily in the second half of the fiscal year, and it would not expect to see the large inventory write downs that it had last year. Tobacco margins are expected to be “pretty normalized” from a percentage basis on where they were before, uncommitted inventories are expected to return to the 20% target as the season progresses, and working capital should be reduced from recent years due to lower green tobacco prices, although quarter-end levels will fluctuate with shipping timing, customer orders, and carryover crops. CapEx is estimated to be above maintenance levels this year, SG&A is expected to be in the 300 to $310 million band, and interest expense is expected to be down a little from last year. Ingredients improvement efforts are expected to take time and continue through the next fiscal year, with the company focused on steady and incremental advances; potential additional tobacco volumes this year could occur to hedge against risks that could occur next season.Universal Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
46
Neutral
Balance Sheet
58
Neutral
Cash Flow
52
Neutral
| Breakdown | TTM | Mar 2026 | Mar 2025 | Mar 2024 | Mar 2023 | Mar 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 2.85B | 2.92B | 2.95B | 2.75B | 2.57B | 2.10B |
| Gross Profit | 480.04M | 512.02M | 548.88M | 536.10M | 458.29M | 408.93M |
| EBITDA | 196.06M | 230.13M | 301.05M | 288.68M | 248.57M | 222.53M |
| Net Income | 19.12M | 32.64M | 95.05M | 119.60M | 124.05M | 86.58M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 3.04B | 2.77B | 2.99B | 2.94B | 2.64B | 2.59B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 173.59M | 62.18M | 260.12M | 55.59M | 64.69M | 81.65M |
| Total Debt | 1.22B | 939.82M | 1.10B | 1.06B | 849.32M | 741.11M |
| Total Liabilities | 1.61B | 1.31B | 1.49B | 1.46B | 1.20B | 1.20B |
| Stockholders Equity | 1.39B | 1.42B | 1.46B | 1.44B | 1.40B | 1.34B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 164.38M | 80.27M | 264.37M | -140.65M | -65.23M | -8.32M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 217.08M | 129.10M | 326.97M | -74.63M | -10.56M | 44.88M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -46.69M | -42.96M | -58.82M | -60.00M | -50.35M | -142.66M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -174.67M | -284.34M | -63.23M | 125.67M | 38.95M | -16.76M |
Universal Technical Analysis
Negative
45.89
Price Trends
42.95
Negative
46.98
Negative
49.08
Negative
Market Momentum
-1.10
Positive
21.08
Positive
3.83
Positive
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 45.89 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 41.04, above the 50-day MA of 42.95, and below the 200-day MA of 49.08, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -1.10 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 21.08 is Positive, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 3.83 is Positive, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for UVV.
Universal Risk Analysis
Universal disclosed 24 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Universal reported the most risks in the "Production" 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
73 Outperform | $311.57B | 28.83 | -119.68% | 3.04% | 8.02% | 24.06% | |
69 Neutral | $124.63B | 15.58 | -265.17% | 5.81% | 1.01% | -8.27% | |
69 Neutral | $126.23B | 15.02 | 13.38% | 5.64% | 4.47% | 117.22% | |
65 Neutral | $1.30B | 27.15 | 11.93% | 0.49% | 20.10% | -3.19% | |
62 Neutral | $20.33B | 14.63 | -3.31% | 3.23% | 1.93% | -12.26% | |
49 Neutral | $951.65M | 50.29 | 1.33% | 8.63% | -3.04% | -81.53% | |
41 Neutral | $190.78K | >-0.01 | -20.47% | ― | -27.44% | 99.95% |
* Consumer Defensive Sector Average
UVV
Universal
39.67
-10.41
-20.78%
MO
Altria Group
76.07
15.59
25.78%
BTI
British American Tobacco
60.47
11.53
23.57%
PM
Philip Morris
201.74
49.43
32.45%
XXII
22nd Century
0.22
-458.78
-99.95%
TPB
Turning Point Brands
66.87
-20.56
-23.51%
Universal Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and Financing
Universal temporarily relaxes leverage limits in credit pact
Neutral
Oct 13, 2026
On October 9, 2026, Universal Corporation amended its December 2025 Credit Agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and other lenders, revising the covenant that limits its Total Net Leverage Ratio. The maximum ratio was temporarily increased to 3...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
Universal terminates ingredients vice president amid succession search
Negative
Sep 18, 2026
Universal Corporation reported that J. Patrick O’Keefe, its Vice President of Ingredients, was terminated without cause on September 14, 2026, effective September 15, 2026, even though he had previously notified the company on July 29, 2026,...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board ChangesFinancial DisclosuresShareholder Meetings
Universal Reports Weak Q1 Results Amid Tobacco Oversupply
Negative
Aug 5, 2026
At its 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders held on August 4, 2026, Universal’s investors elected Arthur J. Schick Jr., Gregory A. Trojan, and Jaqueline T. Williams to three-year board terms, endorsed executive compensation in a non-binding a...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
Universal Announces Leadership Transition in Ingredients Segment
Neutral
Aug 4, 2026
On July 29, 2026, Universal Corporation announced that J. Patrick O’Keefe intends to retire from his roles as Vice President, Ingredients at the parent company and Senior Vice President of Universal Ingredients, Inc. The company will engage ...
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.