UGI (NYSE:UGI) Rating Lowered to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

UGI (NYSE:UGI) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on UGI. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of UGI in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded UGI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of UGI in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.33.

UGI Stock Performance

UGI stock opened at $36.27 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $34.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.50. UGI has a fifty-two week low of $31.62 and a fifty-two week high of $41.34.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion during 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%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that UGI will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Kathleen Shea-Ballay sold 25,360 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.62, for a total value of $852,603.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $852,603.20. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UGI

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UGI. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in UGI by 45.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UGI during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Colonial Trust Co SC acquired a new stake in shares of UGI during the fourth quarter worth $75,000. Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UGI during the fourth quarter valued at $93,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. 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.