Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) Sets New 12-Month High After Strong Earnings

Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $6.16 and last traded at $5.9650, with a volume of 452971 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $5.99.

The oil and gas company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.01. Ultrapar Participacoes had a net margin of 1.72% and a return on equity of 14.11%. The business had revenue of $7.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.49 billion.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $3.10 to $5.60 in a report on Friday, March 13th. HSBC lowered shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $4.90 to $6.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Ultrapar Participacoes in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $7.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.40 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ultrapar Participacoes has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.00.

Institutional Trading of Ultrapar Participacoes

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 64,807 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 0.7% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 450,668 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 3,050 shares in the last quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 32.4% in 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 in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 3,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 4,688 shares in the last quarter. 3.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ultrapar Participacoes Stock Down 0.4%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.67. The company has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

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.