Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) Stock Moved Down to “Neutral” by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) was downgraded by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Briefing.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on UGP. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from $7.20 to $7.90 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “sector outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Zacks Research raised shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from $6.50 to $5.80 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.54.

Ultrapar Participacoes Stock Up 0.3%

UGP stock opened at $7.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.71. Ultrapar Participacoes has a fifty-two week low of $3.60 and a fifty-two week high of $8.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $7.27 and a 200-day moving average of $6.23.

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.18 billion. Ultrapar Participacoes had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 2.28%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ultrapar Participacoes will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ultrapar Participacoes

In other Ultrapar Participacoes news, CFO Andre Saleme Hachem sold 39,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.67, for a total transaction of $300,664.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 25,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,927.25. The trade was a 60.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Decio De Sampaio Amaral sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.93, for a total value of $55,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 151,432 shares in the company, valued at $1,049,423.76. This represents a 5.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 77,785 shares of company stock worth $587,312 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ultrapar Participacoes

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UGP. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 45.0% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,982 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes in the first quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes during the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Ultrapar Participacoes during the 1st quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Ultrapar Participacoes by 165.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,390 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 7,724 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

About Ultrapar Participacoes

Ultrapar Participações SA is a Brazilian holding company whose businesses focus on fuel distribution, liquefied petroleum gas and transportation infrastructure. Through its subsidiaries, the company serves commercial, industrial, retail and residential customers, primarily in Brazil.

Ipiranga is Ultrapar’s fuel-distribution business, supplying gasoline, ethanol, diesel and other fuels through a network of service stations and commercial channels. Ultragaz distributes liquefied petroleum gas for household, commercial and industrial use, including bottled and bulk products.

Ultrapar also operates Ultracargo, a provider of liquid bulk storage and transportation infrastructure for fuels, chemicals and other products.