Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $7.74, but opened at $6.24. Ultrapar Participacoes shares last traded at $6.3640, with a volume of 2,601,007 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on UGP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from $6.50 to $5.80 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Bank of America upgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $6.80 to $7.40 in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Scotiabank downgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a “sector outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Ultrapar Participacoes from $7.20 to $7.90 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ultrapar Participacoes currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.54.

Ultrapar Participacoes Stock Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.26.

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) last posted its 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. Ultrapar Participacoes had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 18.84%. The firm had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.18 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. will post 0.87 EPS for the current year.

Ultrapar Participacoes Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ultrapar Participacoes news, CFO Andre Saleme Hachem sold 39,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.67, for a total value of $300,664.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 25,675 shares in the company, valued at $196,927.25. This trade represents a 60.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Decio De Sampaio Amaral sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.93, for a total transaction of $55,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 151,432 shares in the company, valued at $1,049,423.76. This represents a 5.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 77,785 shares of company stock worth $587,312 in the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,704,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 235.7% in 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 buying an additional 650,988 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position 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 worth $20,611,000 after acquiring an additional 357,922 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes during the third quarter worth about $2,733,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 42.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 945,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,210,000 after acquiring an additional 282,887 shares during the last quarter. 3.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ultrapar Participacoes Company Profile

Ultrapar Participações SA is a Brazilian holding company whose businesses focus on fuel distribution, liquefied petroleum gas and transportation infrastructure. Through its subsidiaries, the company serves commercial, industrial, retail and residential customers, primarily in Brazil.

Ipiranga is Ultrapar’s fuel-distribution business, supplying gasoline, ethanol, diesel and other fuels through a network of service stations and commercial channels. Ultragaz distributes liquefied petroleum gas for household, commercial and industrial use, including bottled and bulk products.

Ultrapar also operates Ultracargo, a provider of liquid bulk storage and transportation infrastructure for fuels, chemicals and other products.