Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Ultrapar Participacoes shares reached a new 52-week high of $8.28 and last traded at $7.876, up from the prior close of $7.45.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: UBS and Bank of America upgraded the stock to “buy,” while Scotiabank and Goldman Sachs were more cautious. The consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $6.54.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.28 per share, slightly above expectations, while revenue of $8 billion fell short of forecasts. Ultrapar also paid a $0.1932-per-share dividend, although insiders sold shares totaling $587,312 over the past three months.

Shares of Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $8.28 and last traded at $7.8760, with a volume of 616157 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $7.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UGP shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from $7.20 to $7.90 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Bank of America upgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $6.80 to $7.40 in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Scotiabank cut Ultrapar Participacoes from a "sector outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Ultrapar Participacoes from $6.50 to $5.80 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $6.54.

Ultrapar Participacoes Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $8.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $6.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.00.

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. Ultrapar Participacoes had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 2.28%.The business had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.18 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Ultrapar Participacoes Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.1932 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 26th. This represents a yield of 599.0%. Ultrapar Participacoes's payout ratio is 50.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ultrapar Participacoes

In other Ultrapar Participacoes news, insider Pedro Guedes Rabelo sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.58, for a total value of $227,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 57,898 shares in the company, valued at $438,866.84. This represents a 34.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Decio De Sampaio Amaral sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.93, for a total value of $55,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 151,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,049,423.76. This trade represents a 5.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 77,785 shares of company stock worth $587,312 in the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ultrapar Participacoes

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,704,000. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,631,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 235.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 927,216 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,109,000 after acquiring an additional 650,988 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 10.6% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,740,700 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $20,611,000 after acquiring an additional 357,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Ultrapar Participacoes by 42.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 945,625 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,210,000 after acquiring an additional 282,887 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.58% of the company's stock.

About Ultrapar Participacoes

Ultrapar Participações SA is a Brazilian holding company with operations focused on energy, fuel distribution and logistics. Through its businesses, the company supplies fuels, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and related services to consumers, commercial customers and industrial clients.

Its principal businesses include Ipiranga, one of Brazil's major fuel distribution companies, and Ultragaz, which distributes LPG for residential, commercial and industrial use. Ultrapar also owns Ultracargo, a provider of storage and handling services for liquid bulk products, including fuels, chemicals and other industrial materials.

Ultrapar's operations are concentrated primarily in Brazil, with activities supported by distribution networks, terminals and storage infrastructure across key regions of the country.

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