Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor Lowers Stock Holdings in UGI Corporation $UGI

Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor reduced its stake in UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) by 7.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,109,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 95,637 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor owned 0.52% of UGI worth $38,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in UGI in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,696,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in UGI by 75.7% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,335,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,130,000 after purchasing an additional 575,239 shares in the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in UGI during the 4th quarter valued at $1,748,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of UGI in the 4th quarter worth $2,708,000. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UGI by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 180,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,570,000 after buying an additional 15,211 shares during the period. 82.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at UGI

In other news, insider Kathleen Shea-Ballay sold 25,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.62, for a total value of $852,603.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,603.20. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

UGI Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:UGI opened at $35.38 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.93. 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 Corporation has a 12-month low of $31.62 and a 12-month high of $41.34. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.22.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). UGI had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 9.20%.The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that UGI Corporation will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UGI has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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 lowered shares of UGI from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of UGI from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of UGI from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $40.00 price target (down from $45.00) on shares of UGI in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UGI presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.00.

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.