Brokerages Set UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) Target Price at $43.33

UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.3333.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on UGI shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 price target (down from $45.00) on shares of UGI in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of UGI in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of UGI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th.

UGI Stock Performance

UGI opened at $35.28 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.58. UGI has a 52-week low of $31.62 and a 52-week high of $41.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 0.93.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. UGI had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.21 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UGI will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.63%.

Insider Transactions at UGI

In other UGI 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 transaction of $852,603.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,360 shares in the company, valued at $852,603.20. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of UGI by 45.6% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,268 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in UGI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Colonial Trust Co SC acquired a new stake in UGI during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Horizon Investments LLC bought a new position in UGI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $93,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in UGI by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 3,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 254 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.