Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) Trading 5.9% Higher – Time to Buy?

Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP)’s stock price shot up 5.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $6.51 and last traded at $6.5250. 2,549,861 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average session volume of 3,010,801 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.16.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from $7.00 to $7.20 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $6.80 to $7.40 in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ultrapar Participacoes in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ultrapar Participacoes presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6.32.

Ultrapar Participacoes Trading Up 6.1%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.49. The stock has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Ultrapar Participacoes Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be given a $0.1932 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 634.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 26th. Ultrapar Participacoes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

Institutional Trading of Ultrapar Participacoes

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Ultrapar Participacoes by 98.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,214,612 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $15,889,000 after purchasing an additional 2,087,852 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,740,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $20,611,000 after purchasing an additional 357,922 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 131.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,890,033 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,562 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 306.4% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,796,662 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,466,000 after buying an additional 2,108,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 42,357.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,147,914 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,098,000 after buying an additional 2,142,855 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

About Ultrapar Participacoes

Ultrapar Participações SA is a Brazilian diversified holding company operating in the downstream energy and chemical sectors. Its Ipiranga unit runs one of Brazil’s largest networks of fuel stations, supplying gasoline, ethanol, diesel and convenience-store products to retail and wholesale customers. Through Ultragaz, the company is a leading distributor of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), offering cylinder and bulk gas solutions for residential, commercial and industrial use across urban and rural regions.

In the specialty chemicals arena, Ultrapar controls Oxiteno, which produces surfactants and specialty chemical formulations for industries such as personal care, oil and gas, agrochemicals and coatings.