UGI (NYSE:UGI) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of UGI (NYSE:UGI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Mizuho lifted their price target on UGI from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on UGI from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 3rd.

UGI Stock Performance

Shares of UGI stock opened at $23.42 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.61 and a 200 day moving average of $24.03. UGI has a 12 month low of $20.19 and a 12 month high of $27.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -57.12 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. UGI had a positive return on equity of 15.78% and a negative net margin of 0.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.68 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UGI will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.40%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is currently -365.85%.

Institutional Trading of UGI

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UGI by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,897,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $661,669,000 after purchasing an additional 625,128 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in shares of UGI by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 3,746,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $89,962,000 after purchasing an additional 45,630 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UGI by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,502,192 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,554,000 after purchasing an additional 130,010 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of UGI in the 4th quarter worth about $46,034,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of UGI by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,757,212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,121,000 after purchasing an additional 83,219 shares during the period. 82.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.