UGI (NYSE:UGI) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $36.13 and traded as high as $36.63. UGI shares last traded at $36.3060, with a volume of 1,420,838 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of UGI in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen cut UGI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on UGI from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of UGI in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised UGI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.50.

UGI Stock Down 0.0%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $7.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.40 and a beta of 1.08.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. UGI’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that UGI Corporation will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Jean Felix Tematio sold 12,840 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.07, for a total transaction of $488,818.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 6,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,662.64. This trade represents a 64.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new position in UGI during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of UGI by 103.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of UGI during the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new stake in shares of UGI during the 4th quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of UGI during the 4th quarter valued at about $93,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.