HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 7,937 Shares of UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI – Get Rating) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 96,273 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,937 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in UGI were worth $3,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in UGI by 71.0% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners bought a new stake in shares of UGI in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Concourse Financial Group Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UGI by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Concourse Financial Group Securities Inc. now owns 1,488 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of UGI by 154.6% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UGI by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

UGI Stock Performance

UGI stock opened at $28.03 on Friday. UGI Co. has a 12 month low of $27.23 and a 12 month high of $44.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $33.05 and its 200 day moving average is $36.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

UGI (NYSE:UGI – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. UGI had a positive return on equity of 11.38% and a negative net margin of 6.17%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that UGI Co. will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UGI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This is an increase from UGI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.35%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -49.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TheStreet lowered shares of UGI from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Friday, March 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of UGI from $40.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of UGI in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of UGI in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UGI currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.50.

UGI Company Profile

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UGI Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the distribution and marketing of energy products and services. It operates through the following segments: AmeriGas Propane, UGI International, Midstream and Marketing, and Utilities. The AmeriGas Propane segment consists of the propane distribution business of AmeriGas Partners, L.P.