Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) Cut to “Hold” at Scotiabank

Scotiabank cut shares of Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) from a sector outperform rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on UGP. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $6.80 to $7.40 in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from $6.50 to $5.80 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from $7.20 to $7.90 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6.54.

Ultrapar Participacoes Price Performance

Shares of Ultrapar Participacoes stock opened at $7.58 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $8.45 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day moving average of $6.63 and a 200 day moving average of $5.82. Ultrapar Participacoes has a 52 week low of $3.60 and a 52 week high of $7.63.

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.18 billion. Ultrapar Participacoes had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 2.28%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ultrapar Participacoes will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Ultrapar Participacoes Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th were issued a $0.1932 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 26th. This represents a yield of 599.0%. Ultrapar Participacoes’s dividend payout ratio is 50.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ultrapar Participacoes

In other news, insider Pedro Guedes Rabelo sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.58, for a total value of $227,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 57,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $438,866.84. This represents a 34.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Decio De Sampaio Amaral sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.93, for a total transaction of $55,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 151,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,423.76. The trade was a 5.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 38,585 shares of company stock valued at $286,648 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ultrapar Participacoes

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UGP. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 419.7% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 257,957 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 208,319 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 235.7% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 927,216 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,109,000 after purchasing an additional 650,988 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 10.6% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,740,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $20,611,000 after purchasing an additional 357,922 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,704,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 42.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 945,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,210,000 after buying an additional 282,887 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

Ultrapar Participacoes Company Profile

Ultrapar Participações SA is a Brazilian holding company with operations focused on fuel distribution, liquefied petroleum gas and bulk liquid storage. The company traces its origins to 1937, when it was established as Companhia Brasileira de Gás a Domicílio, the predecessor of Ultragaz. Ultrapar’s American depositary shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol UGP.

Its principal businesses include Ipiranga, a fuel distribution company that supplies gasoline, ethanol, diesel and other fuels through a nationwide network of service stations.