# Universal Corporation (UVV) fundamentals

Data as of 2026-09-08. NYSE, United States. Sector: Consumer Defensive / Tobacco. Price $45.61, market value $1.1 billion.

## Valuation
- **P/E (trailing): 60.0×** (5-yr avg 16.7×, 3-yr avg 20.7×). Universal Corporation trades at 60.0× trailing earnings, well above its own five-year average of 16.7×: investors are paying up relative to the company's past. The Consumer Defensive median in the September 2026 study was 20.1×. Forward P/E is 11.5×, lower than trailing, so analysts expect earnings to grow.
- **Price / sales: 0.4×**. Each dollar of revenue is priced at 0.4×, a low multiple typical of thin-margin businesses or out-of-favour stocks.
- **Price / book: 0.8×**. The shares trade below book value, which can signal a bargain or a balance sheet the market doubts.
- **EV / EBITDA: 8.9×**. Enterprise value is 8.9× operating earnings before depreciation, the multiple that ignores how the company is financed.
- **Free-cash-flow yield: 14.5%** (5-yr avg 1.4%). Free cash flow equals 14.5% of the market value, above its five-year average of 1.4%, so the shares are cheaper on cash than they have usually been. Above 5% is generally attractive.
- **Earnings yield: 1.7%**. The inverse of the P/E: 1.7% of the price is earned each year.

## Profitability
- **Operating margin: 4.9%**. 4.9% of revenue is left after running the business, which leaves little cushion in a downturn.
- **Net margin: 1.1%**. 1.1% of each dollar of sales reaches the bottom line.
- **Return on equity: 2.3%**. 2.3% on shareholders' equity is weak; the business earns little on the capital its owners have in it.
- **Return on invested capital: 5.5%**. Return on all capital, debt included, is 5.5%: close to or below the cost of capital, so growth may not create value.
- **Return on assets: 0.7%**. Each dollar of assets produces 0.7% of profit.

## Growth
- **Revenue growth (1 yr): -1.3%** (3-yr 4.2%/yr, 5-yr 8.0%/yr). Revenue fell 1.3% over the last year, against 8.0% a year compounded over five years: growth is slowing.
- **EPS growth (1 yr): -65.6%** (3-yr -36.0%/yr, 5-yr -18.1%/yr). Earnings per share fell 65.6%, slower than revenue, so margins compressed.

## Financial health
- **Debt to equity: 0.44**. Debt is 0.44 times equity: a conservative balance sheet.
- **Net debt / EBITDA: 2.9×**. It would take 2.9 years of operating earnings to repay net borrowings, within the comfortable range.
- **Altman Z-score: 2.48**. A Z-score of 2.48 is in the grey zone; not distressed, not clearly safe.
- **Piotroski F-score: 4/9**. 4 of 9 checks pass: mixed.

## Dividends
- **Dividend yield: 7.28%** ($3.29 per share, trailing). Universal Corporation yields 7.28%, high enough to check carefully: yields this high often precede a cut.
- **Payout ratio: 249%** (50% of free cash flow). The dividend exceeds earnings (249% payout), though free cash flow still covers it.
- **Consecutive years of increases: 26**. 26 straight years of increases (the data covers 26 years, so this may be longer): a record very few companies hold.
- **Dividend growth (5 yr): 1.3%/yr** (1-yr 1.2%). The dividend has grown 1.3% a year over five years.

## Price and momentum
- **Total return (1 yr): -11.6%** (YTD -9.4%, 3-mo -13.8%). The shares are down 11.6% over twelve months including dividends.
- **From 52-week high: -23.2%** (5.2% above the low). Trading 23% below its 52-week high.
- **200-day average: below**. The price sits below its 200-day moving average, the usual definition of a downtrend.
- **RSI (14-day): 39**. An RSI of 39 is neutral.
- **Beta (1 yr): -0.23** (volatility 25%). Beta of -0.23 against the S&P 500: the shares move much less than the market.

Live score and charts: https://foliofundamentals.com/analyzer?s=UVV · Page: https://foliofundamentals.com/stocks/uvv

Not investment advice.