Zacks Research Downgrades UGI (NYSE:UGI) to Strong Sell

UGI (NYSE:UGI) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

UGI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of UGI in a report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of UGI in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised UGI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.33.

UGI Stock Performance

NYSE UGI opened at $36.27 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.87. UGI has a 1-year low of $31.62 and a 1-year high of $41.34. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.93.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. UGI had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 8.71%.The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that UGI will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Kathleen Shea-Ballay sold 25,360 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.62, for a total value of $852,603.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $852,603.20. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its stake in UGI by 234.1% in the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 95,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,178,000 after purchasing an additional 66,946 shares during the period. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of UGI during the fourth quarter worth $600,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of UGI by 11.2% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,863,933 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,254,000 after purchasing an additional 287,764 shares during the period. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of UGI in the fourth quarter worth about $1,696,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of UGI by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 227,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,514,000 after purchasing an additional 18,652 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

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.