UGI (NYSE:UGI) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $39.74 and last traded at $39.75, with a volume of 88359 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.85.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho boosted their price target on UGI from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of UGI in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of UGI in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of UGI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of UGI in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UGI currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.50.

UGI Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $8.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The business has a 50-day moving average of $37.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.50.

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

UGI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.23%.

Insider Activity at UGI

In other news, insider Joseph L. Hartz sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.45, for a total value of $192,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 33,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,287,767.40. This trade represents a 12.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UGI

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of UGI in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in UGI by 103.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 1,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in UGI in the 2nd quarter valued at $86,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UGI by 2,455.7% during the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 3,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in UGI during the second quarter worth about $131,000. 82.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.