UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $44.50.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on UGI shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded UGI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of UGI from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of UGI in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. UBS Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of UGI in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of UGI in a research note on Wednesday.

UGI Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:UGI opened at $37.93 on Monday. UGI has a 1 year low of $26.73 and a 1 year high of $39.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $34.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.10. 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 company has a market cap of $8.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 1.05.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 21st. The utilities provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.21. UGI had a net margin of 9.30% and a return on equity of 15.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($1.27) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that UGI will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. UGI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UGI news, insider Joseph L. Hartz sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.68, for a total value of $580,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 33,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,295,470.56. This represents a 30.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UGI. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in UGI during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in UGI by 103.8% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in UGI during the first quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UGI in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in shares of UGI during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $86,000. 82.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UGI Company Profile

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.