Market Cap
US$1.3b
Last Updated
2020/01/22 23:47 UTC
Data Sources
Company Financials
Executive Summary
Universal Corporation engages in the supply of leaf tobacco products worldwide.
Rewards
Risk Analysis
Snowflake Analysis
Undervalued established dividend payer.
Similar Companies
Share Price & News
How has Universal's share price performed over time and what events caused price changes?
Latest Share Price and Events
Stable Share Price: UVV has not had significant price volatility in the past 3 months.
Market Performance
7 Day Return
-3.2%
UVV
-0.5%
US Tobacco
0.6%
US Market
1 Year Return
-1.9%
UVV
13.4%
US Tobacco
24.6%
US Market
Return vs Industry: UVV underperformed the US Tobacco industry which returned 5.7% over the past year.
Return vs Market: UVV underperformed the US Market which returned 24.7% over the past year.
Shareholder returns
| UVV | Industry | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Day | -3.2% | -0.5% | 0.6% |
| 30 Day | -2.3% | -1.0% | 3.0% |
| 90 Day | -0.9% | 8.5% | 10.6% |
| 1 Year | 3.4%-1.9% | 20.9%13.4% | 27.3%24.6% |
| 3 Year | -19.5%-29.7% | -15.9%-27.8% | 50.5%40.8% |
| 5 Year | 67.4%35.4% | 19.4%-5.1% | 78.9%59.1% |
Price Volatility Vs. Market
How volatile is Universal's share price compared to the market and industry in the last 5 years?
Simply Wall St News
6 days ago | Simply Wall St
Calculating The Intrinsic Value Of Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV)2 weeks ago | Simply Wall St
Why It Might Not Make Sense To Buy Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) For Its Upcoming Dividend2 weeks ago | Simply Wall St
Does Universal Corporation's (NYSE:UVV) CEO Pay Matter?Valuation
Is Universal undervalued compared to its fair value and its price relative to the market?
22.5%
Undervalued compared to fair value
Share Price vs. Fair Value
Below Fair Value: UVV ($55.35) is trading below our estimate of fair value ($69.85)
Significantly Below Fair Value: UVV is trading below fair value by more than 20%.
Price To Earnings Ratio
PE vs Industry: UVV is good value based on its PE Ratio (15.7x) compared to the Tobacco industry average (15.9x).
PE vs Market: UVV is good value based on its PE Ratio (15.5x) compared to the US market (18.9x).
Price to Earnings Growth Ratio
PEG Ratio: Insufficient data to calculate UVV's PEG Ratio to determine if it is good value.
Price to Book Ratio
PB vs Industry: UVV is good value based on its PB Ratio (1.1x) compared to the US Tobacco industry average (3.7x).
Next Steps
Future Growth
How is Universal forecast to perform in the next 1 to 3 years based on estimates from 0 analysts?
9.8%
Forecasted Food, Beverage & Tobacco industry annual growth in earnings
In this section we usually present revenue and earnings growth projections based on the consensus estimates of professional analysts to help investors understand the company’s ability to generate profit. But as Universal has not provided enough past data and has no analyst forecast, its future earnings cannot be reliably calculated by extrapolating past data or using analyst predictions.
This is quite a rare situation as 97% of companies covered by SimplyWall St do have past financial data.
Next Steps
- Examine whether Universal is trading at an attractive price based on how much it is expected to earn in the future, and relative to its industry peers and the wider market.
- Universal competitive advantages and company strategy can generally be found in its financial reports archived here.
- Explore growth companies in the Food, Beverage & Tobacco industry.
Past Performance
How has Universal performed over the past 5 years?
2.2%
Historical annual earnings growth
Earnings and Revenue History
Quality Earnings: UVV has high quality earnings.
Growing Profit Margin: UVV's current net profit margins (4.3%) are lower than last year (5.5%).
Past Earnings Growth Analysis
Earnings Trend: UVV's earnings have grown by 2.2% per year over the past 5 years.
Accelerating Growth: UVV's has had negative earnings growth over the past year, so it can't be compared to its 5-year average.
Earnings vs Industry: UVV had negative earnings growth (-25.6%) over the past year, making it difficult to compare to the Tobacco industry average (-1.7%).
Return on Equity
High ROE: UVV's Return on Equity (7.1%) is considered low.
Return on Assets
Return on Capital Employed
Next Steps
Financial Health
How is Universal's financial position?
Financial Position Analysis
Short Term Liabilities: UVV's short term assets ($1.6B) exceed its short term liabilities ($352.4M).
Long Term Liabilities: UVV's short term assets ($1.6B) exceed its long term liabilities ($527.2M).
Debt to Equity History and Analysis
Debt Level: UVV's debt to equity ratio (40.7%) is considered high.
Reducing Debt: UVV's debt to equity ratio has reduced from 51.2% to 40.7% over the past 5 years.
Debt Coverage: UVV's debt is not well covered by operating cash flow (17.9%).
Interest Coverage: UVV's interest payments on its debt are well covered by EBIT (10.5x coverage).
Balance Sheet
Inventory Level: UVV has a high level of physical assets or inventory.
Debt Coverage by Assets: UVV's debt is covered by short term assets (assets are 3x debt).
Next Steps
Dividend
What is Universal's current dividend yield, its reliability and sustainability?
5.61%
Current Dividend Yield
Dividend Yield vs Market
Current dividend yield vs market & industry
Notable Dividend: UVV's dividend (5.49%) is higher than the bottom 25% of dividend payers in the US market (1.4%).
High Dividend: UVV's dividend (5.49%) is in the top 25% of dividend payers in the US market (3.66%)
Stability and Growth of Payments
Stable Dividend: UVV's dividends per share have been stable in the past 10 years.
Growing Dividend: UVV's dividend payments have increased over the past 10 years.
Current Payout to Shareholders
Dividend Coverage: At its current payout ratio (84.7%), UVV's payments are covered by earnings.
Future Payout to Shareholders
Future Dividend Coverage: Insufficient data to determine if a dividend will be paid in 3 years and that it will be covered by earnings.
Next Steps
Management
What is the CEO of Universal's salary, the management and board of directors tenure and is there insider trading?
8.3yrs
Average management tenure
CEO
George Freeman (56yo)
11.8yrs
Tenure
US$5,346,387
Compensation
Mr. George C. Freeman, III, has been Chairman of Universal Corporation since August 5, 2008. Mr. Freeman has been Chief Executive Officer of Universal Corporation since April 1, 2008. Mr. Freeman has been ...
CEO Compensation Analysis
Compensation vs Market: George's total compensation ($USD5.35M) is above average for companies of similar size in the US market ($USD3.86M).
Compensation vs Earnings: George's compensation has increased by more than 20% whilst company earnings have fallen more than 20% in the past year.
Management Age and Tenure
8.3yrs
Average Tenure
53.5yo
Average Age
Experienced Management: UVV's management team is seasoned and experienced (8.3 years average tenure).
Board Age and Tenure
7.2yrs
Average Tenure
66yo
Average Age
Experienced Board: UVV's board of directors are considered experienced (7.2 years average tenure).
Insider Trading
Insider Buying: Insufficient data to determine if insiders have bought more shares than they have sold in the past 3 months.
Recent Insider Transactions
| Entity | Individual |
| Role | Senior Key Executive Executive VP & Sales Director of Universal Leaf Tobacco Company Inc |
| Shares | 5,000 |
| Max Price | US$59.25 |
| Entity | Individual |
| Shares | 1,745 |
| Max Price | US$60.50 |
| Entity | Individual |
| Shares | 1,862 |
| Max Price | US$57.10 |
| Entity | Individual |
| Role | Chief Legal Officer VP, General Counsel & Secretary |
| Shares | 2,500 |
| Max Price | US$56.25 |
| Entity | Individual |
| Shares | 7,274 |
| Max Price | US$59.56 |
| Entity | Individual |
| Shares | 2,277 |
| Max Price | US$59.52 |
Ownership Breakdown
Dilution of Shares: Shareholders have not been meaningfully diluted in the past year.
Management Team
George Freeman (56yo)
Chairman
- Tenure: 11.8yrs
- Compensation: US$5.35m
Preston Wigner (50yo)
VP, General Counsel & Secretary
- Tenure: 14.2yrs
- Compensation: US$1.48m
Theodore Broome (65yo)
Executive VP & Sales Director of Universal Leaf Tobacco Company Inc
- Tenure: 8.8yrs
- Compensation: US$1.50m
Candace Formacek (59yo)
VP & Treasurer
- Tenure: 7.8yrs
Airton Hentschke (49yo)
COO & Senior VP
- Tenure: 4.8yrs
- Compensation: US$2.50m
Johan Kroner (51yo)
Senior VP & CFO
- Tenure: 1.3yrs
- Compensation: US$1.09m
C. Claiborne (58yo)
VP & Assistant Secretary
- Tenure: 19yrs
Scott Bleicher (41yo)
VP & Controller
- Tenure: 0.6yrs
Board Members
Tom Johnson (69yo)
Independent Director
- Tenure: 19yrs
- Compensation: US$187.38k
Bob Sledd (66yo)
Independent Director
- Tenure: 10.4yrs
- Compensation: US$189.88k
Lennart Freeman (68yo)
Independent Director
- Tenure: 6.4yrs
- Compensation: US$189.88k
Eddie Moore (71yo)
Lead Independent Director
- Tenure: 3.4yrs
- Compensation: US$208.63k
George Freeman (56yo)
Chairman
- Tenure: 11.8yrs
- Compensation: US$5.35m
Thomas Tullidge
Independent Director
- Tenure: 1.4yrs
- Compensation: US$148.63k
Diana Cantor (61yo)
Independent Director
- Tenure: 8yrs
- Compensation: US$187.38k
Mike Lawton (60yo)
Independent Director
- Tenure: 3.4yrs
- Compensation: US$188.63k
Company Information
Universal Corporation's company bio, employee growth, exchange listings and data sources
Key Information
- Name: Universal Corporation
- Ticker: UVV
- Exchange: NYSE
- Founded: 1886
- Industry: Tobacco
- Sector: Food, Beverage & Tobacco
- Market Cap: US$1.344b
- Shares outstanding: 24.80m
- Website: https://www.universalcorp.com
Number of Employees
Location
- Universal Corporation
- 9201 Forest Hill Avenue
- Richmond
- Virginia
- 23235
- United States
Listings
| Ticker | Exchange | Primary Security | Security Type | Country | Currency | Listed on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UVV | NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) | Yes | Common Stock | US | USD | Jan 1968 |
| UVV | DB (Deutsche Boerse AG) | Yes | Common Stock | DE | EUR | Jan 1968 |
| 0LJD | LSE (London Stock Exchange) | Yes | Common Stock | GB | USD | Jan 1968 |
Biography
Universal Corporation engages in the supply of leaf tobacco products worldwide. The company operates through North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Dark Air-Cured, Oriental, and Special Services segments. It is involved in procuring, financing, processing, packing, storing, and shipping leaf tobacco for sale to manufacturers of consumer tobacco products. The company contracts, purchases, processes, and sells flue-cured, burley, and oriental tobaccos that are primarily used in the manufacture of cigarettes; and dark air-cured tobaccos principally used in the manufacture of cigars, natural wrapped cigars and cigarillos, smokeless, and pipe tobacco products. It also provides value-added services, including blending, chemical, and physical testing of tobacco; service cutting for various manufacturers; manufacturing reconstituted leaf tobacco; just-in-time inventory management services; electronic nicotine delivery systems; e-liquid testing services; and smoke testing services for customers. In addition, the company offers testing services for crop protection agents and tobacco constituents in seed, leaf, and finished products, including e-cigarette liquids and vapors; and analytical services that include chemical compound testing in finished tobacco products and mainstream smoke, as well as engages in the research and development growth trials with various partners for non-tobacco agriproducts production, such as vanilla. Further, it produces and sells dehydrated and juiced fruit and vegetable products, as well as provides water pipe style leaf tobacco; and recycles waste materials from tobacco production. The company was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.
Company Analysis and Financial Data Status
| Data | Last Updated (UTC time) |
|---|---|
| Company Analysis | 2020/01/22 23:47 |
| End of Day Share Price | 2020/01/22 00:00 |
| Earnings | 2019/09/30 |
| Annual Earnings | 2019/03/31 |
Unless specified all financial data is based on a yearly period but updated quarterly. This is known as Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) or Last Twelve Month (LTM) Data. Learn more here.