UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.75.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on UGI shares. Huntington assumed coverage on UGI in a research note on Monday, September 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded UGI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded UGI from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research cut UGI from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised UGI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th.

UGI Price Performance

UGI stock opened at $37.70 on Wednesday. UGI has a 52 week low of $31.62 and a 52 week high of $41.34. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $37.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $8.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 0.94.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. UGI had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 12.80%. On average, equities analysts predict that UGI will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is 50.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UGI

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in UGI in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $73,069,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in UGI by 75.7% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,335,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,130,000 after acquiring an additional 575,239 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of UGI during the second quarter worth $12,408,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of UGI by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,191,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,456,000 after acquiring an additional 327,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of UGI in the second quarter worth $11,308,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

About UGI

UGI Corporation (NYSE: UGI) is an energy company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1882, the company operates through businesses that distribute and market natural gas, electricity, propane and other energy products.

Through UGI Utilities, the company provides regulated natural gas and electric service to customers in parts of Pennsylvania and regulated natural gas service in parts of Maryland. UGI also operates energy marketing, midstream and storage businesses that supply natural gas and related services to residential, commercial, industrial and wholesale customers.

UGI is also involved in propane distribution through AmeriGas, which serves customers across the United States, and through international propane operations serving customers in parts of Europe.