UGI (NYSE:UGI) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of UGI (NYSE:UGI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

UGI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. TheStreet raised shares of UGI from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on UGI from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of UGI from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th.

UGI Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE UGI opened at $24.35 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $24.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -59.39 and a beta of 1.13. UGI has a 12 month low of $20.19 and a 12 month high of $30.67.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.32. UGI had a negative net margin of 0.89% and a positive return on equity of 15.78%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that UGI will post 2.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is presently -365.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American National Bank bought a new stake in UGI during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its position in shares of UGI by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of UGI during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of UGI in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in UGI in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 82.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About UGI

UGI Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, distributes, stores, transports, and markets energy products and related services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: AmeriGas Propane, UGI International, Midstream & Marketing, and UGI Utilities. It distributes propane to approximately 1.3 million residential, commercial/industrial, motor fuel, agricultural, and wholesale customers through 1,400 propane distribution locations.