Northern Trust Corp Boosts Stake in UGI Corporation $UGI

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in UGI Corporation by 2.9%, owning approximately 4.12 million shares valued at $136.25 million after acquiring an additional 117,663 shares.
• UGI Corporation reported lower-than-expected earnings with an adjusted EPS of (0.01), beating estimates of (0.12), but falling short in revenue of $1.39 billion against expectations of $1.77 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 4.2%, with a payout ratio of approximately 78.95%.

Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI - Free Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,120,082 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 117,663 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.92% of UGI worth $136,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UGI. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in UGI in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. CX Institutional bought a new position in shares of UGI during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of UGI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of UGI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 82.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UGI. Zacks Research upgraded shares of UGI to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of UGI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of UGI from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.33.

UGI Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:UGI traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $35.05. 592,026 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,945,952. UGI Corporation has a 12-month low of $23.14 and a 12-month high of $37.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $35.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.05.

UGI (NYSE:UGI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.11. UGI had a net margin of 5.70% and a return on equity of 15.73%. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.06 earnings per share. UGI's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that UGI Corporation will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. UGI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.95%.

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.