Foster & Motley Inc. Boosts Stock Position in UGI Corporation $UGI

Foster & Motley Inc. grew its position in shares of UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) by 9.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 180,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,211 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of UGI worth $6,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in shares of UGI by 103.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 1,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of UGI during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new position in UGI in the 4th quarter worth $75,000. Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new position in UGI in the 4th quarter worth $93,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in UGI by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 3,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kathleen Shea-Ballay sold 25,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 25,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $852,603.20. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UGI Price Performance

UGI stock opened at $35.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. UGI Corporation has a 12-month low of $31.62 and a 12-month high of $41.34.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. UGI had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 8.71%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that UGI Corporation will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UGI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on UGI in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of UGI in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded UGI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UGI currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.33.

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.