Short Interest in Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP) Drops By 59.2%

Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 682,915 shares, a decrease of 59.2% from the June 15th total of 1,675,114 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,667,540 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.3 days. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Ultrapar Participacoes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UGP traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $6.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,408,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,923,333. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $5.33 and a 200 day moving average of $5.12. Ultrapar Participacoes has a twelve month low of $2.80 and a twelve month high of $6.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.71.

Institutional Trading of Ultrapar Participacoes

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UGP. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Ultrapar Participacoes by 233.0% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 63,803 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 44,645 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its position in Ultrapar Participacoes by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 453,455 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,499,000 after purchasing an additional 13,203 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Ultrapar Participacoes by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 185,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 19,350 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,982 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 165.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,390 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 7,724 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. HSBC downgraded shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $4.90 to $6.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ultrapar Participacoes in a report on Monday, June 8th. Bank of America raised Ultrapar Participacoes from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $6.80 to $7.40 in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Ultrapar Participacoes from $7.00 to $7.20 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ultrapar Participacoes presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.32.

Ultrapar Participacoes Company Profile

Ultrapar Participações SA is a Brazilian diversified holding company operating in the downstream energy and chemical sectors. Its Ipiranga unit runs one of Brazil’s largest networks of fuel stations, supplying gasoline, ethanol, diesel and convenience-store products to retail and wholesale customers. Through Ultragaz, the company is a leading distributor of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), offering cylinder and bulk gas solutions for residential, commercial and industrial use across urban and rural regions.

In the specialty chemicals arena, Ultrapar controls Oxiteno, which produces surfactants and specialty chemical formulations for industries such as personal care, oil and gas, agrochemicals and coatings.