Topic: How To Invest

Q: I’d appreciate your comments on Utz Brands. It looks like a good stock. Thanks for all your great recommendations over the years!

Article Excerpt

A: Utz Brands Inc., $16.39, symbol UTZ on New York (Shares outstanding: 76.6 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; www.utzsnacks.com), is a Pennsylvania-based maker of salty snacks. Its brands include Utz Original potato chips, Snyder of Berlin, Zapp’s, Boulder Canyon, and TGI Fridays Snacks. Founded in 1921, Utz began trading on the New York exchange in June 2020. Rather than list through an IPO, the company undertook a reverse merger with publicly listed Collier Creek Holdings, a corporation without ongoing business and little assets. By agreeing to a reverse merger with Collier Creek, Utz was able to avoid all the complications and costs involved with going public through an IPO. After the merger closed, Collier Creek changed its name to Utz Brands and remained listed on New York under the new ticker symbol UTZ. The company continues to make acquisitions to expand its product lines and spur growth. In September 2020, it bought the H.K. Anderson peanut-butter-filled pretzel brand from Conagra Brands Inc. (symbol CAG on…