UGI (NYSE:UGI) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of UGI (NYSE:UGI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. TheStreet upgraded UGI from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on UGI from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on UGI from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th.

UGI Price Performance

UGI traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $24.30. The stock had a trading volume of 4,504,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,432,477. UGI has a 1 year low of $20.19 and a 1 year high of $32.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.98. The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.63 and a 200 day moving average of $23.48. The company has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -59.25 and a beta of 1.13.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. UGI had a negative net margin of 0.89% and a positive return on equity of 16.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that UGI will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.17%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is currently -365.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UGI

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stolper Co purchased a new stake in UGI in the fourth quarter worth $1,927,000. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in shares of UGI by 316.5% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 179,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,118,000 after purchasing an additional 136,058 shares in the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of UGI by 247.8% during the fourth quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 58,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,434,000 after buying an additional 41,546 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in UGI by 3.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,271,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $604,255,000 after buying an additional 781,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in UGI by 644.3% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 209,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,822,000 after buying an additional 181,491 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

About UGI

UGI Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, distributes, stores, transports, and markets energy products and related services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: AmeriGas Propane, UGI International, Midstream & Marketing, and UGI Utilities. It distributes propane to approximately 1.3 million residential, commercial/industrial, motor fuel, agricultural, and wholesale customers through 1,400 propane distribution locations.