UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) Holdings Lifted by Argyle Capital Management LLC

Argyle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) by 97.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,400 shares during the quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UGI were worth $993,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Creative Planning boosted its position in UGI by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 44,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,496 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of UGI by 64.2% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in UGI by 10.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 160,451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,014,000 after purchasing an additional 15,527 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in UGI by 945.9% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 51,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,283,000 after purchasing an additional 46,377 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in UGI by 2,402.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 26,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $652,000 after buying an additional 25,005 shares in the last quarter. 82.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on UGI shares. Mizuho upgraded shares of UGI from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on UGI in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock.

UGI Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of UGI stock opened at $33.26 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.21. UGI Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.01 and a fifty-two week high of $33.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts expect that UGI Co. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.51%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.06%.

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.