Renaissance Technologies LLC Boosts Holdings in Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP)

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) by 57.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,450,300 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 898,600 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Ultrapar Participações worth $9,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UGP. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Ultrapar Participações by 60.0% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 356,835 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,041,000 after purchasing an additional 133,791 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 175.6% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,471,048 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $19,850,000 after buying an additional 2,211,696 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 112.6% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 25,044 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 13,262 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ultrapar Participações in the first quarter worth $328,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Ultrapar Participações by 36.1% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 17,923 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 4,757 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UGP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Ultrapar Participações from $5.90 to $5.20 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup raised Ultrapar Participações from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. HSBC raised Ultrapar Participações from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ultrapar Participações from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.20.

Ultrapar Participações Price Performance

Shares of UGP opened at $3.81 on Tuesday. Ultrapar Participações S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $3.39 and a fifty-two week high of $6.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.61. The stock has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of 7.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.55.

Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter. Ultrapar Participações had a return on equity of 20.24% and a net margin of 2.21%. Analysts anticipate that Ultrapar Participações S.A. will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.0446 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Ultrapar Participações’s payout ratio is 16.67%.

Ultrapar Participações Company Profile

Ultrapar Participações SA, through its subsidiaries, operates in the energy and infrastructure business in Brazil. The company distributes liquefied petroleum gas to residential, commercial, and industrial consumers, in addition to renewable electricity and compressed natural gas. It also operates in the distribution and marketing of gasoline, ethanol, diesel, fuel oil, kerosene, natural gas for vehicles, and lubricants; and holds AmPm convenience stores and provides JetOil lubricant services.