Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $6.54.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UGP. Scotiabank lowered Ultrapar Participacoes from a “sector outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Ultrapar Participacoes from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their target price on Ultrapar Participacoes from $7.20 to $7.90 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ultrapar Participacoes news, CEO Decio De Sampaio Amaral sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.93, for a total transaction of $55,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 151,432 shares in the company, valued at $1,049,423.76. This represents a 5.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Pedro Guedes Rabelo sold 30,000 shares of Ultrapar Participacoes stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.58, for a total value of $227,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 57,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $438,866.84. This trade represents a 34.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 77,785 shares of company stock valued at $587,312 over the last 90 days. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ultrapar Participacoes

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UGP. Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,704,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 235.7% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 927,216 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,109,000 after purchasing an additional 650,988 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 10.6% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,740,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $20,611,000 after purchasing an additional 357,922 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes in the third quarter valued at $2,733,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 42.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 945,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,210,000 after acquiring an additional 282,887 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

Ultrapar Participacoes Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:UGP opened at $7.75 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.64. Ultrapar Participacoes has a fifty-two week low of $3.60 and a fifty-two week high of $8.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.71.

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.18 billion. Ultrapar Participacoes had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 18.84%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ultrapar Participacoes will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ultrapar Participacoes Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $0.1932 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 599.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 26th. Ultrapar Participacoes’s payout ratio is currently 50.82%.

Ultrapar Participacoes Company Profile

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.