UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $44.50.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of UGI in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of UGI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of UGI from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jean Felix Tematio sold 12,840 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.07, for a total transaction of $488,818.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $264,662.64. This trade represents a 64.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UGI

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UGI. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in UGI during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of UGI by 103.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 1,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of UGI in the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Colonial Trust Co SC acquired a new stake in shares of UGI during the fourth quarter worth $75,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC bought a new stake in UGI in the fourth quarter valued at about $93,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

UGI Price Performance

Shares of UGI stock opened at $36.69 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.24. UGI has a one year low of $29.03 and a one year high of $41.34. The firm has a market cap of $7.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.50 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. UGI had a return on equity of 14.46% and a net margin of 8.17%.The business’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that UGI will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. UGI’s payout ratio is presently 55.35%.

About UGI

UGI Corporation (NYSE: UGI) is a publicly traded energy distribution company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1882 as the United Gas Improvement Company, UGI has grown into a diversified provider of energy products and services. The company’s operations are organized into three primary segments—AmeriGas Propane, UGI Utilities and UGI International—each focused on the delivery of propane, natural gas and related services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

AmeriGas Propane, UGI’s largest segment, is the leading retail propane distributor in the United States with a network of dealers serving customers in all 50 states.