Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the five analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $4.37.

UGP has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Ultrapar Participações from $5.30 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Itau BBA Securities cut shares of Ultrapar Participações from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th.

Ultrapar Participações Trading Down 3.5 %

NYSE UGP opened at $5.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.16, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.59. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Ultrapar Participações has a 52 week low of $2.74 and a 52 week high of $6.34.

Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The oil and gas company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter. Ultrapar Participações had a net margin of 1.95% and a return on equity of 18.86%. The firm had revenue of $6.75 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts predict that Ultrapar Participações will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ultrapar Participações Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.0723 per share. This is a positive change from Ultrapar Participações’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. Ultrapar Participações’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ultrapar Participações

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações during the third quarter worth $72,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Ultrapar Participações during the third quarter worth about $71,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC bought a new position in Ultrapar Participações in the third quarter worth about $167,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ultrapar Participações in the third quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 13.2% during the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 498,079 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,828,000 after purchasing an additional 57,915 shares during the last quarter. 3.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ultrapar Participações Company Profile

Ultrapar Participações SA, through its subsidiaries, operates in the energy and infrastructure business in Brazil. The company distributes liquefied petroleum gas to residential, commercial, and industrial consumers, in addition to renewable electricity and compressed natural gas. It also operates in the distribution and marketing of gasoline, ethanol, diesel, fuel oil, kerosene, natural gas for vehicles, and lubricants; and holds AmPm convenience stores and provides JetOil lubricant services.