Ballentine Partners LLC Purchases New Holdings in UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI)

Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,002 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in UGI in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UGI by 216.7% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 893 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of UGI in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UGI during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, CX Institutional acquired a new position in UGI in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. 82.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UGI Price Performance

UGI traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $36.34. The stock had a trading volume of 1,269,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,048,738. UGI Corporation has a 1 year low of $23.09 and a 1 year high of $36.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.23. The business has a fifty day moving average of $35.76 and a 200 day moving average of $33.17. The company has a market cap of $7.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.05.

UGI (NYSE:UGI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.41. UGI had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 16.21%. The firm had revenue of $2.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.97 earnings per share. UGI's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that UGI Corporation will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UGI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UGI. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of UGI from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Mizuho lifted their target price on UGI from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th.

About UGI

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.