Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $6.59 and last traded at $6.5250, with a volume of 101705 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UGP. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $6.80 to $7.40 in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on Ultrapar Participacoes from $7.00 to $7.20 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. HSBC downgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $4.90 to $6.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ultrapar Participacoes in a research note on Monday, June 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.32.

Ultrapar Participacoes Stock Up 0.5%

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 cap of $7.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.34.

Institutional Trading of Ultrapar Participacoes

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 64,807 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 1,784 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ultrapar Participacoes by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,982 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 0.7% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 450,668 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 3,050 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 4,688 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Ultrapar Participacoes by 6.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 84,176 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 4,779 shares in the last quarter. 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.