Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stake in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 630,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,265 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of UGI worth $15,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UGI by 42.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,418,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $235,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,878 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UGI by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,762,970 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202,938 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in UGI by 28.7% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,537,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $81,014,000 after buying an additional 788,457 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of UGI by 13.3% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,024,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,267,000 after acquiring an additional 356,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in UGI by 47.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,503,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,630,000 after purchasing an additional 808,113 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on UGI in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho raised shares of UGI from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on UGI from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.33.

UGI Stock Performance

Shares of UGI stock opened at $27.27 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.64. The stock has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. UGI Co. has a 12 month low of $21.67 and a 12 month high of $30.48.

UGI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. UGI’s payout ratio is currently 120.97%.

UGI 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.