Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) Hits New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Ultrapar Participacoes reached a new 52-week high of $7.78, with shares last trading near $7.67 and market capitalization around $8.55 billion.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: the stock has an average “Moderate Buy” rating, although the consensus price target of $6.54 is below its current price. Recent targets range from $5.80 to $7.90.
• The company slightly exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.28 versus $0.27 expected, while revenue of $8 billion fell short of estimates. Insiders have sold 77,785 shares worth about $587,000 over the past 90 days.

Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $7.78 and last traded at $7.6660, with a volume of 4792493 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $7.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UGP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from $7.20 to $7.90 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Ultrapar Participacoes from $6.50 to $5.80 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Bank of America raised Ultrapar Participacoes from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $6.80 to $7.40 in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered Ultrapar Participacoes from a "sector outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $6.54.

Ultrapar Participacoes Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $8.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.73. 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 moving average price is $6.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.89.

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

Ultrapar Participacoes Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Ultrapar Participacoes

In other news, CFO Andre Saleme Hachem sold 39,200 shares of Ultrapar Participacoes stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.67, for a total value of $300,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,927.25. The trade was a 60.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Decio De Sampaio Amaral sold 8,000 shares of Ultrapar Participacoes stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were 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. The trade was a 5.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 77,785 shares of company stock worth $587,312 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ultrapar Participacoes

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,740,700 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $20,611,000 after buying an additional 357,922 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Ultrapar Participacoes in the second quarter valued at $6,704,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Ultrapar Participacoes by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 945,625 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,210,000 after purchasing an additional 282,887 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Ultrapar Participacoes by 235.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 927,216 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,109,000 after purchasing an additional 650,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda increased its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda now owns 915,468 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,044,000 after purchasing an additional 40,586 shares during the period. 3.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ultrapar Participacoes Company Profile

Ultrapar Participações SA is a Brazilian holding company with operations focused on fuel distribution, liquefied petroleum gas and bulk liquid storage. The company traces its origins to 1937, when it was established as Companhia Brasileira de Gás a Domicílio, the predecessor of Ultragaz. Ultrapar's American depositary shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol UGP.

Its principal businesses include Ipiranga, a fuel distribution company that supplies gasoline, ethanol, diesel and other fuels through a nationwide network of service stations.

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