Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Raises Stock Position in UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI)

Key Points

• Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in UGI Corporation by 122.5% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 31,742 shares for a total of 57,653 shares valued at approximately $1.78 million.
• UGI Corporation reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.80, while its revenue was $2.67 billion, lower than the estimated $3.26 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share, with an annualized yield of 4.20%, and a dividend payout ratio of 61.73%.

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI - Free Report) by 122.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 57,653 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 31,742 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in UGI were worth $1,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of UGI during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. CX Institutional bought a new position in UGI in the first quarter valued at $30,000. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in UGI in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in UGI by 36.1% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.34% of the company's stock.

UGI Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:UGI traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $35.75. 1,119,245 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,412,647. The company's 50 day moving average is $35.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.05. UGI Corporation has a twelve month low of $23.09 and a twelve month high of $37.42.

UGI (NYSE:UGI - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $2.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.26 billion. UGI had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 16.21%. The company's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.97 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UGI Corporation will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. UGI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on UGI. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of UGI from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded UGI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th.

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.