Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 1,475,445 Shares of UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in UGI Corporation by 5.2% in the first quarter, holding 12.48% of the company after selling 1,475,445 shares.
• UGI reported a net loss of ($0.01) per share beating estimates of ($0.12) for its quarterly earnings, with a revenue of $1.39 billion, slightly below analyst expectations of $1.77 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share, with a yield of 4.3%, scheduled for payment on October 1st to shareholders of record by September 15th.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its stake in UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,812,750 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,475,445 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.48% of UGI worth $886,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UGI. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of UGI by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 61,471 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,687,000 after buying an additional 7,933 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UGI in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,820,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of UGI by 216.7% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 893 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in shares of UGI by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 94,519 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,668,000 after buying an additional 2,840 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC increased its stake in shares of UGI by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 48,273 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,363,000 after buying an additional 19,656 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.34% of the company's stock.

UGI Stock Performance

Shares of UGI traded up $0.68 on Wednesday, reaching $35.92. 992,549 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,682,519. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $7.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $35.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.07. UGI Corporation has a 52-week low of $23.14 and a 52-week high of $37.42.

UGI (NYSE:UGI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.11. UGI had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 5.70%. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.06 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. UGI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on UGI shares. Wall Street Zen lowered UGI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Mizuho upped their target price on UGI from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research 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.