UGI (NYSE:UGI) Lowered to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of UGI (NYSE:UGI) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of UGI in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of UGI in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of UGI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UGI has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.33.

UGI Stock Performance

Shares of UGI stock opened at $36.27 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $34.65 and a 200 day moving average of $36.50. UGI has a 52 week low of $31.62 and a 52 week high of $41.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

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

UGI Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is 52.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UGI news, insider Kathleen Shea-Ballay sold 25,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.62, for a total transaction of $852,603.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $852,603.20. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UGI

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in UGI by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,715 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,603,000 after acquiring an additional 6,649 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in UGI by 14.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 930,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,781,000 after purchasing an additional 116,372 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in UGI by 17.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 785,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,971,000 after purchasing an additional 115,409 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of UGI by 92.6% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,584 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $747,000 after purchasing an additional 10,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of UGI by 15.6% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 28,359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 3,825 shares in the last quarter. 82.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UGI Company Profile

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.