UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) Receives $44.50 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $44.50.

A number of brokerages have commented on UGI. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of UGI from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded UGI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. UBS Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of UGI in a report on Monday, December 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of UGI in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut UGI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd.

UGI Stock Performance

Shares of UGI opened at $37.40 on Tuesday. UGI has a one year low of $29.03 and a one year high of $41.34. The business has a fifty day moving average of $38.16 and a 200 day moving average of $35.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 1.08.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.24). UGI had a net margin of 8.17% and a return on equity of 14.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UGI will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. UGI’s payout ratio is currently 55.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UGI

In other news, insider Joseph L. Hartz sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.68, for a total value of $580,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 33,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,295,470.56. This represents a 30.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UGI. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in UGI during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Bare Financial Services Inc raised its stake in UGI by 103.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 1,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in UGI during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in UGI in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC bought a new position in UGI in the 4th quarter worth approximately $93,000. 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.