Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) have been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $4.37.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Itau BBA Securities cut shares of Ultrapar Participações from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Ultrapar Participações from $5.30 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ultrapar Participações

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UGP. Natixis Advisors L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações during the fourth quarter worth $1,169,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 1,497.3% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 153,473 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $832,000 after buying an additional 143,865 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 8.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,382,989 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,076,000 after buying an additional 104,754 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações during the fourth quarter worth $557,000. Finally, Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações during the third quarter worth $336,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

Ultrapar Participações Stock Performance

Shares of UGP stock opened at $5.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.59. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $5.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.27. Ultrapar Participações has a 52 week low of $2.74 and a 52 week high of $6.34.

Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The oil and gas company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $6.75 billion for the quarter. Ultrapar Participações had a net margin of 1.95% and a return on equity of 18.86%. On average, analysts expect that Ultrapar Participações will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ultrapar Participações Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $0.0723 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This is a boost from Ultrapar Participações’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. Ultrapar Participações’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.11%.

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.