Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) Stock Gets Downgrade from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan downgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from “overweight” to “neutral,” while Scotiabank also lowered its rating to “hold.” Despite mixed analyst views, the stock retains a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $6.54 price target.
• UGP shares opened at $7.97 and were up 0.3%, near their 52-week high of $8.28. The company recently reported quarterly EPS of $0.28, slightly above the $0.27 consensus estimate, on $8 billion in revenue.
• Insiders sold 77,785 shares worth $587,312 over the past 90 days, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.58% of the company.

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report issued on Thursday, Briefing.com reports.

UGP has been the subject of several other reports. Scotiabank lowered Ultrapar Participacoes from a "sector outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Bank of America upgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $6.80 to $7.40 in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from $7.20 to $7.90 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $6.54.

Ultrapar Participacoes Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:UGP opened at $7.97 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $8.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.71. Ultrapar Participacoes has a fifty-two week low of $3.60 and a fifty-two week high of $8.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock's 50-day moving average is $7.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.23.

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. Ultrapar Participacoes had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 18.84%. The business had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.18 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ultrapar Participacoes will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Pedro Guedes Rabelo sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.58, for a total value of $227,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 57,898 shares in the company, valued at $438,866.84. This trade represents a 34.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Decio De Sampaio Amaral sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.93, for a total transaction of $55,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 151,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,049,423.76. This trade represents a 5.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 77,785 shares of company stock worth $587,312 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ultrapar Participacoes

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 162.3% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 180,500 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,321,000 after buying an additional 111,695 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Ultrapar Participacoes during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,733,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new stake in Ultrapar Participacoes during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,108,000. Western Financial Corp CA bought a new position in Ultrapar Participacoes in the third quarter valued at approximately $142,000. Finally, Plan A Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 24.3% in the third quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC now owns 15,620 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 3,050 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.58% of the company's stock.

Ultrapar Participacoes Company Profile

Ultrapar Participações SA is a Brazilian holding company whose businesses focus on fuel distribution, liquefied petroleum gas and transportation infrastructure. Through its subsidiaries, the company serves commercial, industrial, retail and residential customers, primarily in Brazil.

Ipiranga is Ultrapar's fuel-distribution business, supplying gasoline, ethanol, diesel and other fuels through a network of service stations and commercial channels. Ultragaz distributes liquefied petroleum gas for household, commercial and industrial use, including bottled and bulk products.

Ultrapar also operates Ultracargo, a provider of liquid bulk storage and transportation infrastructure for fuels, chemicals and other products.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.