Wall Street Zen Downgrades UGI (NYSE:UGI) to Sell

UGI (NYSE:UGI) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

UGI has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (down from $45.00) on shares of UGI in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on UGI from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded UGI from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered UGI from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.00.

UGI Price Performance

UGI stock opened at $35.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. UGI has a 12-month low of $31.62 and a 12-month high of $41.34.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kathleen Shea-Ballay sold 25,360 shares of the business’s 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 owned 25,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $852,603.20. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UGI

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in UGI in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of UGI by 45.6% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,268 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of UGI in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in UGI during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in UGI in the 2nd quarter worth about $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

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.