Shell Asset Management Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)

Shell Asset Management Co. reduced its stake in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) by 73.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 28,620 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in UGI were worth $297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in UGI by 216.7% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of UGI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UGI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. S.A. Mason LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UGI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UGI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 82.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UGI shares. StockNews.com raised UGI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho increased their price objective on UGI from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday.

Insider Activity at UGI

In other news, insider Michael Sharp acquired 4,806 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $33.30 per share, for a total transaction of $160,039.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $160,039.80. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UGI Price Performance

UGI stock opened at $35.48 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.47. UGI Co. has a twelve month low of $22.01 and a twelve month high of $35.50. The company has a market capitalization of $7.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.97, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.05.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.41. UGI had a net margin of 7.73% and a return on equity of 15.19%. The firm had revenue of $2.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.97 EPS. UGI’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UGI Co. will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.23%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.73%.

About UGI

UGI Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, distributes, stores, transports, and markets energy products and related services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: AmeriGas Propane, UGI International, Midstream & Marketing, and UGI Utilities. It distributes propane to approximately 1.3 million residential, commercial/industrial, motor fuel, agricultural, and wholesale customers through 1,400 propane distribution locations.