Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $6.70, but opened at $6.38. Ultrapar Participacoes shares last traded at $6.4020, with a volume of 226,513 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on UGP. Wall Street Zen raised Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Ultrapar Participacoes from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $6.80 to $7.40 in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from $7.00 to $7.20 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.32.

Ultrapar Participacoes Trading Down 4.3%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $7.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.70.

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. Ultrapar Participacoes had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 2.28%.The business had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.18 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ultrapar Participacoes Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.1932 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 602.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 26th. Ultrapar Participacoes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.43%.

Institutional Trading of Ultrapar Participacoes

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Ultrapar Participacoes in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 45.0% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,982 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

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.