Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $5.30 and last traded at $5.3240, with a volume of 654676 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $5.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.40 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.40.

Ultrapar Participacoes Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.83. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $4.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.39, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.84.

Ultrapar Participacoes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a $0.1876 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. Ultrapar Participacoes’s payout ratio is 59.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ultrapar Participacoes

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 98.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,214,612 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $15,889,000 after acquiring an additional 2,087,852 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Ultrapar Participacoes by 117.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,084,186 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $16,745,000 after purchasing an additional 2,205,282 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes in the 3rd quarter worth $14,639,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,382,778 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,753,000 after purchasing an additional 807,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 131.9% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,890,033 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,562 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

Ultrapar Participacoes Company Profile

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.