UGI (NYSE:UGI) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $31.13 and last traded at $31.04, with a volume of 276381 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UGI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho raised shares of UGI from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $30.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of UGI in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of UGI from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UGI currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.33.

UGI Trading Up 0.9 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.28 and a beta of 1.21.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.16. UGI had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 14.64%. On average, equities analysts predict that UGI Co. will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 120.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UGI

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in UGI by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,418,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $235,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,878 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,265,300 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UGI by 33.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,762,970 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,246,000 after buying an additional 1,202,938 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UGI by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,503,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,630,000 after buying an additional 808,113 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in UGI by 105.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 82.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.