UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $44.50.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UGI. Wall Street Zen downgraded UGI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of UGI in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of UGI from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of UGI in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded UGI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th.

Insider Transactions at UGI

In other news, insider Joseph L. Hartz sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.68, for a total transaction of $580,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 33,492 shares in the company, valued at $1,295,470.56. The trade was a 30.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UGI. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of UGI by 9.2% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,715 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,603,000 after acquiring an additional 6,649 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in UGI by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 930,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,781,000 after purchasing an additional 116,372 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UGI by 17.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 785,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,971,000 after purchasing an additional 115,409 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of UGI by 92.6% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,584 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $747,000 after buying an additional 10,861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of UGI by 6.8% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. 82.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UGI Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of UGI stock opened at $40.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.69. The stock has a market cap of $8.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. UGI has a 1 year low of $29.03 and a 1 year high of $41.34.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 21st. The utilities provider reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by $0.21. UGI had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 9.30%.The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($1.27) earnings per share. UGI’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that UGI will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is 48.23%.

UGI Company Profile

UGI Corporation (NYSE: UGI) is a publicly traded energy distribution company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1882 as the United Gas Improvement Company, UGI has grown into a diversified provider of energy products and services. The company’s operations are organized into three primary segments—AmeriGas Propane, UGI Utilities and UGI International—each focused on the delivery of propane, natural gas and related services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

AmeriGas Propane, UGI’s largest segment, is the leading retail propane distributor in the United States with a network of dealers serving customers in all 50 states.