UGI (NYSE:UGI) Stock Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI)’s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $35.91 and traded as high as $38.64. UGI shares last traded at $38.3180, with a volume of 1,182,651 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on UGI shares. Mizuho upped their price objective 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 reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of UGI in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen cut UGI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised UGI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of UGI in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.50.

UGI Stock Down 0.2%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.91. The company has a market capitalization of $8.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.78.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.50 by ($0.24). UGI had a return on equity of 14.46% and a net margin of 8.17%.The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. UGI’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that UGI Corporation will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. UGI’s payout ratio is 55.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jean Felix Tematio sold 12,840 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.07, for a total transaction of $488,818.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,662.64. This represents a 64.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph L. Hartz sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.68, for a total value of $580,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 33,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,295,470.56. This represents a 30.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 32,840 shares of company stock valued at $1,261,269 over the last three months. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UGI during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in UGI by 103.8% during the third quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 1,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in UGI during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new position in UGI in the fourth quarter valued at about $75,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in UGI in the second quarter valued at about $86,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

About UGI

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.