Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New $804,000 Investment in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 28,487 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $804,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of UGI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in UGI by 216.7% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 893 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC purchased a new stake in UGI in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new position in UGI during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UGI during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 82.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UGI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their price target on UGI from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded UGI from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael Sharp purchased 4,806 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $33.30 per share, with a total value of $160,039.80. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,806 shares in the company, valued at $160,039.80. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UGI Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of UGI stock traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $36.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,320,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,231,180. UGI Co. has a 12-month low of $22.01 and a 12-month high of $36.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.74 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $33.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.90.

UGI (NYSE:UGI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $2.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.26 billion. UGI had a return on equity of 15.19% and a net margin of 7.73%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.97 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that UGI Co. will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. UGI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.73%.

UGI 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.