Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) to “Hold”

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a $5.60 price target on the oil and gas company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 12.88% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Ultrapar Participacoes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.40 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ultrapar Participacoes currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.50.

Ultrapar Participacoes Stock Up 0.2%

UGP stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $4.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,031,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,072,014. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.85. Ultrapar Participacoes has a fifty-two week low of $2.70 and a fifty-two week high of $5.42.

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $7.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.64 billion. Ultrapar Participacoes had a return on equity of 14.11% and a net margin of 1.72%. Analysts forecast that Ultrapar Participacoes will post 0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Ultrapar Participacoes by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 21,133 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 2,632 shares in the last quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 32.4% during the third quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC now owns 14,056 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 3,438 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 5.5% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 75,215 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 3,952 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 4,688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 33,774 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,082 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

About Ultrapar Participacoes

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.