Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires New Holdings in UGI Corporation $UGI

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management acquired 93,825 shares of UGI Corporation in the third quarter, valued at approximately $3.35 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.34% of UGI’s outstanding stock.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive: UGI has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.80, compared with its reported share price of $38.58.
• UGI pays a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share, equivalent to a $1.50 annualized payout and a 3.9% yield. The company’s latest quarterly results missed analyst expectations, with an EPS loss of $0.20 versus the projected loss of $0.08.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 93,825 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,347,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UGI. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in UGI during the 2nd quarter worth $73,069,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of UGI by 75.7% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,335,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,130,000 after purchasing an additional 575,239 shares in the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC lifted its stake in UGI by 1.5% during the second quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 1,302,403 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,985,000 after purchasing an additional 18,808 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UGI by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,057,888 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,539,000 after purchasing an additional 103,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of UGI by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 662,274 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $22,875,000 after purchasing an additional 69,054 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on UGI. Huntington began coverage on UGI in a research report on Monday, September 14th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised UGI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday. Zacks Research downgraded UGI from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UGI from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on UGI in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $46.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UGI has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.80.

UGI Stock Performance

Shares of UGI opened at $38.58 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.21. The stock has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.90 and a beta of 0.93. UGI Corporation has a 12-month low of $31.65 and a 12-month high of $41.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

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

UGI Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.3750 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. UGI's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.17%.

About UGI

UGI Corporation is a diversified energy company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1882 as the United Gas Improvement Company, it has developed into an operator and distributor of energy businesses serving residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers.

Through UGI Utilities, the company distributes natural gas and provides electric utility service in parts of Pennsylvania. Its other operations include natural gas marketing, midstream services and energy-related activities in the United States, along with propane distribution through AmeriGas and liquefied petroleum gas distribution in Europe through UGI International.

UGI's businesses serve customers across the United States and selected European markets.

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