Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $5.50.

UGP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Ultrapar Participacoes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $3.10 to $5.60 in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.40 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 5th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ultrapar Participacoes

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UGP. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in Ultrapar Participacoes during the third quarter worth about $14,639,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Ultrapar Participacoes by 117.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,084,186 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $16,745,000 after buying an additional 2,205,282 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Ultrapar Participacoes by 42,357.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,147,914 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,098,000 after buying an additional 2,142,855 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Ultrapar Participacoes by 306.4% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,796,662 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,466,000 after buying an additional 2,108,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Ultrapar Participacoes by 98.2% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,214,612 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $15,889,000 after buying an additional 2,087,852 shares in the last quarter. 3.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ultrapar Participacoes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UGP opened at $5.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a PE ratio of 14.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.76. Ultrapar Participacoes has a fifty-two week low of $2.70 and a fifty-two week high of $5.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $5.14 and a 200-day moving average of $4.39.

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter. The company 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 year.

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.