UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• UGI has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from six analysts, with three buys, one strong buy, one hold and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $43.33, compared with a recent share price of $36.85.
• UGI’s latest quarterly results slightly missed expectations, reporting $2.09 in EPS versus $2.11 expected and $2.69 billion in revenue versus $3.08 billion forecast. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $2.89.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share, or $1.50 annually, representing a 4.1% yield and a 52.63% payout ratio.

Shares of UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.3333.

Several brokerages recently commented on UGI. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of UGI in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on UGI in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $46.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research lowered shares of UGI from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of UGI from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th.

UGI Price Performance

Shares of UGI stock opened at $36.85 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.00. UGI has a 52-week low of $31.62 and a 52-week high of $41.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $35.25 and a 200-day moving average of $36.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.93.

UGI (NYSE:UGI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. UGI had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 8.71%.UGI's revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that UGI will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. UGI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.63%.

Insider Activity at UGI

In related news, insider Kathleen Shea-Ballay sold 25,360 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.62, for a total value of $852,603.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 25,360 shares in the company, valued at $852,603.20. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UGI. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its stake in shares of UGI by 234.1% in the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 95,545 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,178,000 after acquiring an additional 66,946 shares during the last quarter. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in UGI during the 4th quarter valued at about $600,000. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in UGI in the fourth quarter worth about $1,696,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in UGI by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 227,467 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,514,000 after buying an additional 18,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinebridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in UGI during the 4th quarter valued at $1,748,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.34% of the company's stock.

About UGI

UGI Corporation NYSE: UGI is a publicly traded energy distribution company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1882 as the United Gas Improvement Company, UGI has grown into a diversified provider of energy products and services. The company's operations are organized into three primary segments—AmeriGas Propane, UGI Utilities and UGI International—each focused on the delivery of propane, natural gas and related services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

AmeriGas Propane, UGI's largest segment, is the leading retail propane distributor in the United States with a network of dealers serving customers in all 50 states.

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