Zacks Research Upgrades UGI (NYSE:UGI) to “Hold”

UGI (NYSE:UGI) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday, Zacks reports.

UGI has been the subject of several other research reports. Huntington began coverage on shares of UGI in a research report on Monday, September 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of UGI in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $46.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of UGI from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UGI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of UGI from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.80.

UGI Price Performance

Shares of UGI stock opened at $39.28 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.72 and a 200-day moving average of $36.69. UGI has a 52-week low of $31.65 and a 52-week high of $41.34.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that UGI will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in UGI during the second quarter worth about $73,069,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of UGI by 75.7% in 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. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of UGI during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $12,408,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UGI during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $11,308,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in shares of UGI during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $10,515,000. Institutional investors own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

About UGI

UGI Corporation is a diversified energy company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1882 as the United Gas Improvement Company, it has developed into an operator and distributor of energy businesses serving residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers.

Through UGI Utilities, the company distributes natural gas and provides electric utility service in parts of Pennsylvania. Its other operations include natural gas marketing, midstream services and energy-related activities in the United States, along with propane distribution through AmeriGas and liquefied petroleum gas distribution in Europe through UGI International.

UGI’s businesses serve customers across the United States and selected European markets.