Quantbot Technologies LP Buys Shares of 39,875 UGI Corporation $UGI

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 39,875 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of UGI by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in UGI by 45.6% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,268 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in UGI by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in UGI by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its position in shares of UGI by 3.5% in the second quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 29,656 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at UGI

In other news, insider Kathleen Shea-Ballay sold 25,360 shares of UGI 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 approximately $852,603.20. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of UGI from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. 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. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of UGI from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on UGI from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut UGI from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.00.

UGI Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of UGI opened at $38.38 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $35.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.10. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.83 and a beta of 0.93. UGI Corporation has a 12-month low of $31.62 and a 12-month high of $41.34.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. UGI had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 9.20%. As a group, research analysts predict that UGI Corporation will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.17%.

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.