Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $7.36 and last traded at $7.4230, with a volume of 3624180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UGP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Bank of America upgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $6.80 to $7.40 in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group upped 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from $6.50 to $5.80 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ultrapar Participacoes presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.54.

Ultrapar Participacoes Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.71. The stock has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.73. 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 (NYSE:UGP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. Ultrapar Participacoes had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 2.28%.The company had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.18 billion. Analysts expect that Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ultrapar Participacoes Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be paid a $0.1932 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 599.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 26th. Ultrapar Participacoes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.82%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Decio De Sampaio Amaral sold 8,000 shares of Ultrapar Participacoes stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.93, for a total transaction of $55,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 151,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,423.76. The trade was a 5.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ultrapar Participacoes

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UGP. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 235.7% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 927,216 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,109,000 after buying an additional 650,988 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,740,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $20,611,000 after acquiring an additional 357,922 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 945,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,210,000 after acquiring an additional 282,887 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Ultrapar Participacoes in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,704,000. Finally, Banco BTG Pactual S.A. acquired a new position in Ultrapar Participacoes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,631,000. Institutional investors own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

About Ultrapar Participacoes

Ultrapar Participações SA is a Brazilian diversified holding company operating in the downstream energy and chemical sectors. Its Ipiranga unit runs one of Brazil’s largest networks of fuel stations, supplying gasoline, ethanol, diesel and convenience-store products to retail and wholesale customers. Through Ultragaz, the company is a leading distributor of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), offering cylinder and bulk gas solutions for residential, commercial and industrial use across urban and rural regions.

In the specialty chemicals arena, Ultrapar controls Oxiteno, which produces surfactants and specialty chemical formulations for industries such as personal care, oil and gas, agrochemicals and coatings.