UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $45.75.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on UGI shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of UGI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of UGI from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of UGI from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research cut shares of UGI from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Huntington began coverage on shares of UGI in a report on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling at UGI

In related news, insider Kathleen Shea-Ballay sold 25,360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.62, for a total value of $852,603.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $852,603.20. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of UGI

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of UGI by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in UGI by 80.1% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in UGI by 45.6% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,268 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in UGI by 36.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UGI by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. 82.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UGI Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of UGI opened at $37.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.94. UGI has a 52 week low of $31.62 and a 52 week high of $41.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $36.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.12). UGI had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UGI will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.17%.

About UGI

UGI Corporation (NYSE: UGI) is an energy company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1882, the company operates through businesses that distribute and market natural gas, electricity, propane and other energy products.

Through UGI Utilities, the company provides regulated natural gas and electric service to customers in parts of Pennsylvania and regulated natural gas service in parts of Maryland. UGI also operates energy marketing, midstream and storage businesses that supply natural gas and related services to residential, commercial, industrial and wholesale customers.

UGI is also involved in propane distribution through AmeriGas, which serves customers across the United States, and through international propane operations serving customers in parts of Europe.