Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) Sets New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Ultrapar Participacoes reached a new 52-week high, trading around $7.42 and up 2.1%, with a market capitalization of approximately $8.29 billion.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus; Bank of America and UBS raised their price targets to $7.40 and $7.90, respectively, although the consensus target of $6.54 is below the current share price.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.28, slightly exceeding estimates, and announced a $0.1932 dividend with a 50.82% payout ratio. CEO Decio De Sampaio Amaral sold 8,000 shares, while institutional ownership increased among several investors.

Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $7.36 and last traded at $7.4230, with a volume of 3624180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UGP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target 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 shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $6.80 to $7.40 in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Ultrapar Participacoes from $7.20 to $7.90 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ultrapar Participacoes has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $6.54.

Ultrapar Participacoes Trading Up 2.1%

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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $6.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.68. The company has a market capitalization of $8.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.73.

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. Ultrapar Participacoes had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 2.28%.The company had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.18 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Ultrapar Participacoes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be given a $0.1932 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 599.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 26th. Ultrapar Participacoes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Decio De Sampaio Amaral sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.93, for a total transaction of $55,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 151,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,049,423.76. The trade was a 5.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 62,497 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 64,807 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ultrapar Participacoes by 45.0% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,982 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 450,668 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 3,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,210 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 4,688 shares during the last quarter. 3.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ultrapar Participacoes

Ultrapar Participações SA is a Brazilian diversified holding company operating in the downstream energy and chemical sectors. Its Ipiranga unit runs one of Brazil's largest networks of fuel stations, supplying gasoline, ethanol, diesel and convenience-store products to retail and wholesale customers. Through Ultragaz, the company is a leading distributor of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), offering cylinder and bulk gas solutions for residential, commercial and industrial use across urban and rural regions.

In the specialty chemicals arena, Ultrapar controls Oxiteno, which produces surfactants and specialty chemical formulations for industries such as personal care, oil and gas, agrochemicals and coatings.

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