Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) Given New $5.80 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) had its price objective dropped by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $6.50 to $5.80 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target indicates a potential downside of 9.73% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on UGP. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $6.80 to $7.40 in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.40.

Ultrapar Participacoes Stock Performance

Shares of UGP stock traded down $0.28 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $6.42. 1,617,682 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,019,010. Ultrapar Participacoes has a twelve month low of $3.35 and a twelve month high of $6.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $5.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.57. 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 capitalization of $7.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.70.

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. Ultrapar Participacoes had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 2.28%.The business had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.18 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ultrapar Participacoes will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ultrapar Participacoes

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 70,838 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 6,947 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 75.2% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,878,904 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,163,000 after buying an additional 806,463 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 100.8% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 22,832 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 11,461 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 80.9% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 177,847 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 79,524 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 26.6% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 66,997 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 14,060 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.