UGI Co. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.38 (NYSE:UGI)

UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 21st,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of 0.375 per share by the utilities provider on Wednesday, January 1st. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th.

UGI has raised its dividend payment by an average of 4.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 36 consecutive years. UGI has a payout ratio of 50.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect UGI to earn $3.14 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.50 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 47.8%.

UGI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UGI traded up $3.73 on Friday, hitting $28.52. The stock had a trading volume of 10,218,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,153,061. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $24.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91. UGI has a twelve month low of $21.51 and a twelve month high of $28.66. The company has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.35 and a beta of 1.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UGI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho raised shares of UGI from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on UGI from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on UGI in a report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of UGI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.33.

UGI Company Profile

UGI Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, distributes, stores, transports, and markets energy products and related services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: AmeriGas Propane, UGI International, Midstream & Marketing, and UGI Utilities. It distributes propane to approximately 1.3 million residential, commercial/industrial, motor fuel, agricultural, and wholesale customers through 1,400 propane distribution locations.