UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $44.50.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on UGI shares. UBS Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of UGI in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded UGI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on UGI from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th.

UGI Trading Up 1.5%

UGI stock opened at $36.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.84 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 1.08. UGI has a 12 month low of $29.03 and a 12 month high of $41.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.50 by ($0.24). UGI had a net margin of 8.17% and a return on equity of 14.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. UGI’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that UGI will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. UGI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.35%.

Insider Activity at UGI

In other news, CAO Jean Felix Tematio sold 12,840 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.07, for a total value of $488,818.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,952 shares in the company, valued at $264,662.64. The trade was a 64.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UGI

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UGI. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in UGI by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,191,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,456,000 after acquiring an additional 327,511 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of UGI by 14.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 930,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,781,000 after purchasing an additional 116,372 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of UGI by 17.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 785,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,971,000 after purchasing an additional 115,409 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of UGI by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 227,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,514,000 after purchasing an additional 18,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. raised its position in shares of UGI by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 165,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,183,000 after purchasing an additional 20,179 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

UGI Company Profile

UGI Corporation (NYSE: UGI) is a publicly traded energy distribution company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1882 as the United Gas Improvement Company, UGI has grown into a diversified provider of energy products and services. The company’s operations are organized into three primary segments—AmeriGas Propane, UGI Utilities and UGI International—each focused on the delivery of propane, natural gas and related services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

AmeriGas Propane, UGI’s largest segment, is the leading retail propane distributor in the United States with a network of dealers serving customers in all 50 states.