Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) Cut to "Market Perform" at Itau BBA Securities

Itau BBA Securities lowered shares of Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP - Free Report) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on UGP. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Ultrapar Participações from $5.30 to $6.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Ultrapar Participações from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Saturday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $4.37.

Ultrapar Participações Stock Performance

UGP stock remained flat at $5.58 during trading on Tuesday. 2,657,163 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,458,763. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $5.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.10. Ultrapar Participações has a 12-month low of $2.67 and a 12-month high of $6.34. The company has a market capitalization of $6.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The oil and gas company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter. Ultrapar Participações had a net margin of 1.95% and a return on equity of 18.86%. The firm had revenue of $6.75 billion during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ultrapar Participações will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ultrapar Participações Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $0.0723 dividend. This is a boost from Ultrapar Participações's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a yield of 2%. Ultrapar Participações's payout ratio is 31.11%.

Institutional Trading of Ultrapar Participações

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UGP. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 194.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,266,762 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495,832 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 12,392.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,314,326 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,588,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,805 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 85.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,199,348 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,817,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012,518 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 264.1% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,307,919 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,864,000 after purchasing an additional 948,695 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 771.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 819,019 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,006,000 after purchasing an additional 724,989 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.58% of the company's stock.

About Ultrapar Participações

Ultrapar Participações SA, through its subsidiaries, operates in the energy and infrastructure business in Brazil. The company distributes liquefied petroleum gas to residential, commercial, and industrial consumers, in addition to renewable electricity and compressed natural gas. It also operates in the distribution and marketing of gasoline, ethanol, diesel, fuel oil, kerosene, natural gas for vehicles, and lubricants; and holds AmPm convenience stores and provides JetOil lubricant services.