UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $43.3333.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on UGI shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of UGI in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of UGI in a report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of UGI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kathleen Shea-Ballay sold 25,360 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.62, for a total value of $852,603.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 25,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $852,603.20. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UGI

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in UGI by 45.6% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,268 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of UGI in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new position in shares of UGI in the fourth quarter valued at $75,000. Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of UGI during the fourth quarter valued at about $93,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of UGI by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 3,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

UGI Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of UGI stock opened at $35.15 on Friday. UGI has a fifty-two week low of $31.62 and a fifty-two week high of $41.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.65. The company has a market cap of $7.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33 and a beta of 0.93.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. UGI had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 8.71%.UGI’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.21 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that UGI will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.63%.

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.