UGI (NYSE:UGI) Stock Dropped to Sell by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of UGI (NYSE:UGI) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on UGI from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on UGI in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut UGI from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised UGI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Huntington began coverage on shares of UGI in a research report on Monday, September 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.80.

UGI Stock Performance

Shares of UGI opened at $37.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. UGI has a 52-week low of $31.65 and a 52-week high of $41.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.73. The company has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a PE ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 0.94.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.12). UGI had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 9.20%. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Equities research analysts predict that UGI will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of UGI

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MSH Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in UGI during the second quarter worth approximately $1,961,000. Private Management Group Inc. grew its stake in UGI by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,057,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,539,000 after acquiring an additional 103,470 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in UGI in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,949,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in UGI in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,665,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in UGI in the 2nd quarter valued at $73,069,000. 82.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UGI Company Profile

UGI Corporation is a diversified energy company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1882 as the United Gas Improvement Company, it has developed into an operator and distributor of energy businesses serving residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers.

Through UGI Utilities, the company distributes natural gas and provides electric utility service in parts of Pennsylvania. Its other operations include natural gas marketing, midstream services and energy-related activities in the United States, along with propane distribution through AmeriGas and liquefied petroleum gas distribution in Europe through UGI International.

UGI’s businesses serve customers across the United States and selected European markets.