UGI (NYSE:UGI) Stock Rating Cut to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded UGI from “hold” to “sell,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a $45.80 price target.
• UGI opened at $37.10, with a market capitalization of approximately $7.96 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.41; its shares have traded between $31.62 and $41.34 over the past year.
• The company’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, reporting a loss of $0.20 per share versus the $0.08 consensus estimate and revenue of $1.33 billion versus $1.50 billion expected.

UGI (NYSE:UGI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

UGI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of UGI in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $46.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on UGI from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered UGI from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Huntington initiated coverage on UGI in a report on Monday, September 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded UGI from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.80.

UGI Stock Performance

UGI opened at $37.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.13. UGI has a 1 year low of $31.62 and a 1 year high of $41.34. The company has a market capitalization of $7.96 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 0.93.

UGI (NYSE:UGI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.12). UGI had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Research analysts expect that UGI will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in UGI by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,191,444 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $119,456,000 after purchasing an additional 327,511 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of UGI in the 2nd quarter valued at $73,069,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of UGI by 75.7% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,335,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $46,130,000 after buying an additional 575,239 shares in the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of UGI by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 1,302,403 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,985,000 after buying an additional 18,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of UGI by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,057,888 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,539,000 after buying an additional 103,470 shares during the last quarter. 82.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About UGI

UGI Corporation is a diversified energy company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Through its subsidiaries, the company distributes and markets natural gas, propane, electricity and related energy products to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers.

UGI Utilities operates regulated natural gas and electric distribution businesses in Pennsylvania and provides natural gas, electric and related services to customers in the region. The company also owns AmeriGas, one of the largest retail propane distributors in the United States, serving households, businesses, agricultural customers and other end users through a nationwide distribution network.

UGI has additional energy operations in Europe through its international LPG businesses and participates in energy marketing, midstream and related activities.

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