Miller Value Partners LLC Purchases New Shares in UGI Corporation $UGI

Miller Value Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 121,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,179,000. UGI accounts for about 1.0% of Miller Value Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in UGI by 9.2% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,715 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,603,000 after purchasing an additional 6,649 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UGI by 14.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 930,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,781,000 after purchasing an additional 116,372 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UGI by 17.2% during 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 valued at $25,971,000 after purchasing an additional 115,409 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of UGI by 92.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,584 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $747,000 after purchasing an additional 10,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UGI by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 28,359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $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 Price Performance

Shares of UGI opened at $38.38 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.83 and a beta of 0.93. 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 50 day moving average of $35.84 and a 200 day moving average of $36.10. UGI Corporation has a twelve month low of $31.62 and a twelve month high of $41.34.

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

UGI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. UGI’s payout ratio is currently 50.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Kathleen Shea-Ballay sold 25,360 shares of the 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 sale, the insider directly owned 25,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $852,603.20. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UGI shares. Weiss Ratings lowered UGI from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut UGI from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 price target (down from $45.00) on shares of UGI in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research lowered UGI from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of UGI from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.00.

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.