UGI (NYSE:UGI) Stock Rating Raised to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of UGI (NYSE:UGI) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on UGI. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of UGI from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UGI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $40.00 to $43.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of UGI from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of UGI in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Huntington started coverage on shares of UGI in a report on Monday, September 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.80.

UGI Price Performance

Shares of UGI stock opened at $39.28 on Monday. UGI has a 52 week low of $31.65 and a 52 week high of $41.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $37.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.69.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UGI will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.3750 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Abundance Wealth Counselors raised its stake in shares of UGI by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 36,435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 2,653 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in UGI by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 106,722 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,807,000 after purchasing an additional 4,467 shares in the last quarter. Invested Advisors boosted its stake in UGI by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invested Advisors now owns 7,570 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,352 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in UGI by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,291 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,997 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in UGI by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 9,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

About UGI

UGI Corporation is a diversified energy company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1882 as the United Gas Improvement Company, it has developed into an operator and distributor of energy businesses serving residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers.

Through UGI Utilities, the company distributes natural gas and provides electric utility service in parts of Pennsylvania. Its other operations include natural gas marketing, midstream services and energy-related activities in the United States, along with propane distribution through AmeriGas and liquefied petroleum gas distribution in Europe through UGI International.

UGI’s businesses serve customers across the United States and selected European markets.