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

UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $44.50.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of UGI in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on UGI from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of UGI in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered UGI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, UBS Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of UGI in a research note on Monday, December 15th.

UGI Price Performance

NYSE:UGI opened at $37.48 on Friday. UGI has a 52-week low of $29.03 and a 52-week high of $39.59. The firm has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $37.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 21st. The utilities provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.21. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. UGI had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 9.30%.The company’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.27) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UGI will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is 48.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph L. Hartz sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.68, for a total transaction of $580,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 33,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,295,470.56. This represents a 30.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UGI

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of UGI in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its position in UGI by 103.8% in the third quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 1,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in UGI during the second quarter worth $86,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its holdings in UGI by 2,455.7% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 3,217 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of UGI by 2,246.7% during the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 3,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 3,078 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

UGI Company Profile

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.