Forensic Analysis · Trading Companies & Distributors · as of Aug 11, 2026

Universal Corp /Va/ (UVV)

A forensic read on Universal Corp /Va/ built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.

D · Weak — demands caution

Forensic grade

Safe

Financial health

6.0

Distress distance

Clean

Earnings quality

Forensic signals

38.6

P / E (ttm)

2.3%

ROE

$1.2B

Market cap

6.49%

Dividend yield

-1.3%

Revenue growth

This free snapshot doesn't read filing or proxy text, so the auditor-quality and governance checks that can lower a grade were not evaluated (red flags, auditor quality, say on pay, board independence). Those checks only ever lower a grade, so the full analysis can land below the grade above but never above it — treat it as the most favourable reading, not the settled one.

Universal Corp /Va/ earns a D (Weak — demands caution) forensic quality grade, and its balance-sheet distress test reads 6.0, placing it in the Safe zone. 4 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by return on invested capital.

What the filings flag

5.1%

FY2026

Return on invested capital. Return on invested capital is 5.1% in the latest fiscal year and slipping from 8% — well below its ~8% cost of capital, so reinvested dollars may be destroying value, not building it.

$41M

FY2026–FY2026

Goodwill impairments. Took $41M of goodwill writedowns across 1 year (FY2026 ($41M)) — about 126% of net income over the span. A large writedown means an acquisition turned out worth far less than was paid — a real mark against M&A discipline.

+0.3%/yr

FY2023–FY2026

Share count. Diluted share count changed +1% over the last 3 years to FY2026 (+0.3%/yr). Roughly flat — the count is neither shrinking nor growing meaningfully. Per-share value isn't being meaningfully helped or hurt by the count.

101% of FCF

FY2026

Shareholder returns. Returned $81M to shareholders (buybacks + dividends) in FY2026 — 101% of free cash flow. Right at the limit of what free cash flow covers — little room before it's funded by debt or the balance sheet. That ratio has been CLIMBING toward the limit — 57% of free cash flow a few years back — not just sitting there. Counting the $7M of stock-based comp paid out in shares on top of that, the combined claim on free cash flow is 110%.

Key fundamentals

Latest Revenue$2.89B

Revenue Growth YoY-1.3%

Revenue CAGR (3yr)+4.2%

Net Margin1.1%

Free Cash Flow$80.3M

Return on Equity2.3%

Debt / Equity0.44x

The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. Want the AI investment read on top — the 0–100 rating, thesis, bull-vs-bear, red flags and the 12-month scenario, written from Universal Corp /Va/'s actual 10-K/10-Q/8-K filings?

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Data from SEC EDGAR public filings · metrics as of Aug 11, 2026. Forensic signals flag probability, not certainty.