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

UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.3333.

Several brokerages have recently commented on UGI. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of UGI in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of UGI in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on UGI in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock.

UGI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UGI opened at $34.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $35.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.07. UGI has a fifty-two week low of $31.62 and a fifty-two week high of $41.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.24 and a beta of 0.94.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.02). UGI had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 8.71%.The company had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that UGI will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UGI

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in shares of UGI by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 3,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UGI by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UGI by 4.9% in the 4th 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 during the period. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in UGI by 103.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 1,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UGI by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

UGI Company Profile

UGI Corporation (NYSE: UGI) is a publicly traded energy distribution company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1882 as the United Gas Improvement Company, UGI has grown into a diversified provider of energy products and services. The company’s operations are organized into three primary segments—AmeriGas Propane, UGI Utilities and UGI International—each focused on the delivery of propane, natural gas and related services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

AmeriGas Propane, UGI’s largest segment, is the leading retail propane distributor in the United States with a network of dealers serving customers in all 50 states.