Consumer Defensive
Universal Corporation(UVV)
Live Price
Offline$53.93
+1.26% today
1Y Change
-9.41%
Window
Jun 23, 2025 โ Jun 12, 2026
- Market Cap
- $1.35B
- Revenue Growth
- +7.2%
- EPS Growth
- -20.8%
- Dividend Yield
- 6.0%
Coverage: 245 bars ยท Jun 23, 2025 โ Jun 12, 2026
Research Briefing
A compact read on the setup, peer context, quarterly changes, and recent earnings reaction.
Research Snapshot
Universal Corporation (UVV) is a Consumer Defensive stock with a market cap of $1.35B and listed on NYSE. The stock last traded around $53.93 and down 9.4% across the available one-year price window (Jun 23, 2025 โ Jun 12, 2026). Baseline metrics include revenue growth of +7.2%, EPS growth of -20.8%, a dividend yield of 6.0%. What stands out right now is revenue +7.2%, EPS -20.8%, free cash flow +288.0% with operating margin 7.8% and ROIC 5.7%. The dividend matters to the case here, with a current yield around 6.0%. Valuation is more restrained than many high-expectation growth names at P/E 15.9 and price/sales 0.5. Overall, the current profile looks closer to a income-oriented value setup than a generic broad-market placeholder. Stock Foundry combines UVV price history, valuation, growth, dividend context, earnings, analyst forecasts, news, related Consumer Defensive peers on this page.
Sector Context
How this name stacks up against nearby peers on first-pass metrics.
Revenue Growth
Above sector median
+7.2% vs +1.7% peer median
Operating Margin
Near sector median
+7.8% vs +6.6% peer median
P/E
Near sector median
15.9 vs 14.0 peer median
What Changed This Quarter
Latest report context and the signals most likely to have changed the story.
Latest report is on the board
2026 was reported on May 27, 2026, but the surprise data is still limited.
The operating picture looks softer than before
Revenue is at +7.2% and EPS is at -20.8%, with operating margin around 7.8%.
Shareholder return is still part of the story
The stock is still offering a dividend yield around 6.0%, which matters if the thesis depends on income as much as growth.
Earnings Reaction Memory
How the stock has tended to move after recent reports.
Across the last 3 reported quarters, the stock averaged +0.6% over the next 5 trading days and finished higher after 2 of those reports.
View quarter-by-quarter reaction table
| Quarter | EPS ฮ | 1D | 5D | 20D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2026 May 27, 2026 | โ | -7.4% | -3.9% | โ |
2026 Feb 9, 2026 | -29.7% | +0.0% | +3.4% | +0.9% |
2025 Nov 5, 2025 | +1.5% | +5.3% | +2.2% | +0.3% |
Benchmark Comparison
Normalized Performance vs SPY
Compare this ticker against a broad index, growth benchmark, or sector ETF using a shared 1Y normalization window.
UVV
โ
Normalized return
SPY
โ
S&P 500
Excess Return
โ
Relative to SPY
UVV Max Drawdown
-15.47%
Trailing 1Y
SPY Max Drawdown
โ
Trailing 1Y
Calendar-Year Returns
Uses the longest available daily history for UVV and SPY.
Company Overview
Universal Corporation
New York Stock Exchange
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. 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; 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. Further, it provides a various value-added manufacturing processes to produce specialty vegetable and fruit-based ingredients, as well as botanical extracts and flavorings for human and pet food markets; and recycles waste materials from tobacco production. The company was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.
- Leadership
- Preston Douglas Wigner
- IPO Date
- Jan 5, 1988
- Employees
- 10.8k
- Street Address
- 9201 Forest Hill Avenue
- Mailing
- Richmond, VA, 23235
- Region
- Richmond, VA, US
- Reporting Currency
- USD
- Investor Line
- 804 359 9311
- Last Updated
- May 5, 2026
Key Fundamentals
Valuation, growth, profitability, and balance sheet signals.
Valuation
- P/E
- 15.9
- EV/EBITDA
- 8.4
- Price/Sales
- 0.5
- Price/Book
- 0.9
Growth
- Revenue
- +7.2%
- EPS
- -20.8%
- Free Cash Flow
- +288.0%
Profitability
- Gross Margin
- 18.2%
- Operating Margin
- 7.8%
- Net Margin
- 2.9%
- ROE
- 5.8%
- ROIC
- 5.7%
Balance Sheet
- Debt/Equity
- 0.75
- Current Ratio
- 2.91
Earnings Reports
Latest News
Official Releases
Company announcements and filings-style updates.
Next Step
Keep the research moving
After the overview, the strongest next step is usually chart context or a tighter compare set.