UGI (NYSE:UGI) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of UGI (NYSE:UGI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on UGI. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of UGI from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on UGI from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th.

UGI Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:UGI opened at $22.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.21. UGI has a 52-week low of $20.19 and a 52-week high of $27.78. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.09. The firm has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -55.02 and a beta of 1.13.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. UGI had a positive return on equity of 15.78% and a negative net margin of 0.89%. UGI’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that UGI will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.65%. UGI’s payout ratio is -365.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UGI

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of UGI by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 139,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,219,000 after purchasing an additional 47,824 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in UGI by 71.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 610,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,046,000 after buying an additional 255,507 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in UGI by 139.0% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 41,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $959,000 after buying an additional 24,250 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in UGI by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 91,762 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,111,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UGI by 11.2% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 138,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,183,000 after acquiring an additional 13,890 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

About UGI

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.