Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) Lowered to Hold Rating by HSBC

HSBC downgraded shares of Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $6.00 price objective on the oil and gas company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $4.90.

UGP has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.40 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $3.10 to $5.60 in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.67.

Ultrapar Participacoes Price Performance

UGP stock opened at $5.62 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.76. Ultrapar Participacoes has a 1 year low of $2.70 and a 1 year high of $5.75.

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $6.19 billion during the quarter. Ultrapar Participacoes had a return on equity of 14.11% and a net margin of 1.72%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ultrapar Participacoes will post 0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UGP. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. 3.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ultrapar Participacoes

Ultrapar Participações SA is a Brazilian diversified holding company operating in the downstream energy and chemical sectors. Its Ipiranga unit runs one of Brazil’s largest networks of fuel stations, supplying gasoline, ethanol, diesel and convenience-store products to retail and wholesale customers. Through Ultragaz, the company is a leading distributor of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), offering cylinder and bulk gas solutions for residential, commercial and industrial use across urban and rural regions.

In the specialty chemicals arena, Ultrapar controls Oxiteno, which produces surfactants and specialty chemical formulations for industries such as personal care, oil and gas, agrochemicals and coatings.