Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP) Short Interest Down 59.2% in June

Key Points

• Short interest in Ultrapar Participações (NYSE: UGP) plunged 59.2% in June, falling to 682,915 shares as of June 30 from 1.68 million shares two weeks earlier. That equals just about 0.1% of shares sold short and a days-to-cover ratio of 0.3.
• The stock traded slightly lower in Tuesday trading, down 0.9% to $5.95, while volume surged well above average. UGP is near its 52-week high of $6.20 and has posted a market cap of about $6.63 billion.
• Analysts remain cautiously bullish on the Brazilian energy and chemicals company, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6.32. Recent moves included UBS and Bank of America raising their price targets and upgrading their views on the stock.

Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 682,915 shares, a drop of 59.2% from the June 15th total of 1,675,114 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,667,540 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days. Approximately 0.1% of the company's shares are sold short.

Ultrapar Participacoes Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of UGP traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $5.95. 17,500,566 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,885,511. Ultrapar Participacoes has a 52 week low of $2.80 and a 52 week high of $6.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.11.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 98.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,214,612 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $15,889,000 after purchasing an additional 2,087,852 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Ultrapar Participacoes by 117.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,084,186 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $16,745,000 after buying an additional 2,205,282 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 10.6% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,740,700 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $20,611,000 after buying an additional 357,922 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in Ultrapar Participacoes in the third quarter valued at $14,639,000. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its position in Ultrapar Participacoes by 131.9% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,890,033 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $11,849,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643,562 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UGP. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ultrapar Participacoes from $7.00 to $7.20 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $6.80 to $7.40 in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. HSBC cut shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the company from $4.90 to $6.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Ultrapar Participacoes in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ultrapar Participacoes presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $6.32.

Ultrapar Participacoes Company Profile

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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