Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) Sets New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Ultrapar Participacoes (UGP) hit a new 52-week high Monday, trading as high as $6.06 and last at $6.0460 on volume of about 1.36 million shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed — several firms have downgraded the stock (Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Weiss) while Jefferies upgraded it; MarketBeat’s consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $5.67.
• Key fundamentals: market cap roughly $6.78 billion, P/E 15.19, 50-day/200-day moving averages of $5.22/$4.44, last quarter EPS $0.05 on $6.19 billion revenue, and institutional ownership of about 3.58%.

Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $6.06 and last traded at $6.0460, with a volume of 1355834 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on UGP. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $5.40 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ultrapar Participacoes from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $3.10 to $5.60 in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $4.90 to $6.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5.67.

Ultrapar Participacoes Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $5.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.76.

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ultrapar Participacoes had a return on equity of 14.11% and a net margin of 1.72%.The company had revenue of $6.19 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. will post 0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.58% of the company's stock.

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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