Inspire Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI)

Key Points

• Inspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in UGI Corporation by 8.6% in the 1st quarter, bringing its total holdings to 96,348 shares worth over $3 million.
• UGI recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.21 for the quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.80, while revenue rose 8.1% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.375, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.50 with a yield of 4.16%.

Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,348 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,620 shares during the quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC's holdings in UGI were worth $3,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UGI. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in UGI by 216.7% during the 4th 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. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of UGI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CX Institutional purchased a new position in UGI during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new position in UGI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in UGI by 36.1% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.34% of the company's stock.

UGI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UGI traded up $0.04 on Tuesday, hitting $35.70. 1,226,424 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,972,926. UGI Corporation has a 1-year low of $23.09 and a 1-year high of $37.42. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $35.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.05.

UGI (NYSE:UGI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.41. UGI had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 16.21%. The business had revenue of $2.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.97 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that UGI Corporation will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

UGI Company 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.