UGI (NYSE:UGI) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $39.74 and last traded at $39.75, with a volume of 88359 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $38.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UGI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of UGI in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of UGI in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of UGI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of UGI in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of UGI from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UGI presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.50.

UGI Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $37.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $8.47 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 1.07.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 21st. The utilities provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. UGI had a net margin of 9.30% and a return on equity of 15.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.27) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that UGI Corporation will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph L. Hartz sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.45, for a total transaction of $192,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 33,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,287,767.40. This trade represents a 12.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in UGI by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 98,812 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,599,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of UGI by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of UGI by 6.8% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of UGI by 7.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in UGI by 103.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 1,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. 82.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.