UGI (NYSE:UGI) Shares Up 12.7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) traded up 12.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $37.20 and last traded at $39.5290. 285,910 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 1,800,441 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UGI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut UGI from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 price target (down from $45.00) on shares of UGI in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research cut shares of UGI from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings cut UGI from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on UGI from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

UGI Trading Up 11.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company’s 50 day moving average is $35.42 and its 200 day moving average is $36.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 0.93.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. UGI had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 9.20%. On average, research analysts forecast that UGI Corporation will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. UGI’s payout ratio is 50.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UGI news, insider Kathleen Shea-Ballay sold 25,360 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.62, for a total value of $852,603.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 25,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $852,603.20. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UGI

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in UGI during the second quarter worth $1,680,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of UGI during the 2nd quarter worth about $427,000. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UGI during the 2nd quarter worth about $412,000. Man Group plc bought a new stake in shares of UGI during the 2nd quarter worth about $10,102,000. Finally, Miller Value Partners LLC acquired a new position in UGI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,179,000. 82.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UGI Company Profile

UGI Corporation (NYSE: UGI) is a publicly traded energy distribution company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1882 as the United Gas Improvement Company, UGI has grown into a diversified provider of energy products and services. The company’s operations are organized into three primary segments—AmeriGas Propane, UGI Utilities and UGI International—each focused on the delivery of propane, natural gas and related services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

AmeriGas Propane, UGI’s largest segment, is the leading retail propane distributor in the United States with a network of dealers serving customers in all 50 states.