Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $3.20.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank upgraded Ultrapar Participações to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 27th. HSBC raised shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $4.10 to $3.20 in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ultrapar Participações

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UGP. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in Ultrapar Participações in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Wolverine Trading LLC purchased a new position in Ultrapar Participações during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Freedom Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ultrapar Participações during the third quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Ultrapar Participações by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 19,705 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 3,688 shares in the last quarter. 3.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ultrapar Participações Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Ultrapar Participações stock opened at $3.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ultrapar Participações has a fifty-two week low of $2.53 and a fifty-two week high of $5.85. The company has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.42.

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.0774 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Ultrapar Participações’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.33%.

Ultrapar Participações Company Profile

Ultrapar Participações SA, through its subsidiaries, operates in the energy and infrastructure business in Brazil. The company distributes liquefied petroleum gas to residential, commercial, and industrial consumers, in addition to renewable electricity and compressed natural gas. It also operates in the distribution and marketing of gasoline, ethanol, diesel, fuel oil, kerosene, natural gas for vehicles, and lubricants; and holds AmPm convenience stores and provides JetOil lubricant services.