Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. has a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from five research firms, with an average twelve-month target price of $3.20.
• Significant institutional investments have been made in Ultrapar, with Polunin Capital raising its stake by 8.9% and JPMorgan Chase increasing its stake by 75.2% in the second quarter.
• The company announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.0555 per share, resulting in a high dividend yield of 360.0%.

Shares of Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Buy" from the five ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $3.20.

Several brokerages recently commented on UGP. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Scotiabank upgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ultrapar Participacoes

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 61.3% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 52,395 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 19,918 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 92.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 17,413 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 8,388 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 200.9% during the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 146,591 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 97,879 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 986,220 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,594,000 after purchasing an additional 247,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in Ultrapar Participacoes during the 1st quarter worth approximately $831,000. 3.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ultrapar Participacoes Trading Up 7.7%

Shares of Ultrapar Participacoes stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3.71. The stock had a trading volume of 3,054,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,498,598. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Ultrapar Participacoes has a 1 year low of $2.53 and a 1 year high of $4.36.

Ultrapar Participacoes Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.0555 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 360.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. Ultrapar Participacoes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Ultrapar Participacoes Company Profile

Ultrapar Participações SA, through its subsidiaries, operates in the energy and infrastructure business in Brazil. The company distributes liquefied petroleum gas to residential, commercial, and industrial consumers, in addition to renewable electricity and compressed natural gas. It also operates in the distribution and marketing of gasoline, ethanol, diesel, fuel oil, kerosene, natural gas for vehicles, and lubricants; and holds AmPm convenience stores and provides JetOil lubricant services.