Vestcor Inc Grows Position in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)

Vestcor Inc increased its holdings in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) by 16.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,493 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in UGI were worth $486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UGI. FMR LLC lifted its stake in UGI by 42.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,418,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $235,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,878 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in UGI by 2,050.9% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 2,375,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,067,000 after acquiring an additional 2,265,300 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in UGI by 33.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,762,970 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202,938 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in UGI by 47.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,503,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,630,000 after acquiring an additional 808,113 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in UGI by 105.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,507,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,712,000 after acquiring an additional 774,770 shares during the period. 82.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael Sharp acquired 4,806 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $33.30 per share, for a total transaction of $160,039.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,806 shares in the company, valued at $160,039.80. The trade was a ? increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

UGI Stock Performance

UGI stock opened at $33.14 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.72. UGI Co. has a one year low of $22.01 and a one year high of $34.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.00.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.16. UGI had a net margin of 7.73% and a return on equity of 15.19%. On average, equities analysts forecast that UGI Co. will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.53%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of UGI in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company.

UGI Company Profile

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.