UGI (NYSE:UGI) Share Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $36.45 and traded as high as $37.01. UGI shares last traded at $36.8450, with a volume of 1,367,205 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (down from $45.00) on shares of UGI in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research lowered UGI from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on UGI in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised UGI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UGI has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.33.

UGI Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.44. The stock has a market cap of $8.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.00.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. UGI had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 8.71%.UGI’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. Analysts expect that UGI Corporation will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. UGI’s payout ratio is 52.63%.

Insider Transactions at UGI

In related news, insider Kathleen Shea-Ballay sold 25,360 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.62, for a total value of $852,603.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $852,603.20. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UGI

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in UGI by 9.2% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,715 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,603,000 after purchasing an additional 6,649 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UGI by 14.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 930,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,781,000 after purchasing an additional 116,372 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of UGI by 17.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 785,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,971,000 after buying an additional 115,409 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of UGI by 92.6% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,584 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $747,000 after buying an additional 10,861 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in UGI by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 28,359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after buying an additional 3,825 shares during the last quarter. 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.