Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Lowers Position in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC trimmed its position in shares of UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) by 12.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 386,226 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 55,942 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.18% of UGI worth $12,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in UGI by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,529,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $325,469,000 after buying an additional 2,110,337 shares during the period. Snyder Capital Management L P boosted its stake in shares of UGI by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Snyder Capital Management L P now owns 5,126,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $144,727,000 after acquiring an additional 78,327 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of UGI by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,058,998 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $157,200,000 after acquiring an additional 296,028 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of UGI by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,962,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,098,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007,156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of UGI by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,002,419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $112,988,000 after purchasing an additional 703,491 shares in the last quarter. 82.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UGI Stock Up 0.6%

UGI stock opened at $35.56 on Friday. UGI Co. has a 52 week low of $22.01 and a 52 week high of $36.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.06.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.41. UGI had a return on equity of 15.19% and a net margin of 7.73%. The company had revenue of $2.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.97 EPS. UGI’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that UGI Co. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. UGI’s payout ratio is 61.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on UGI shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded UGI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Mizuho increased their target price on UGI from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th.

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.