UGI (NYSE:UGI) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of UGI (NYSE:UGI) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on UGI from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 price target (down from $45.00) on shares of UGI in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research lowered shares of UGI from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of UGI from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UGI presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

UGI Price Performance

UGI stock opened at $35.10 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.42 and a 200-day moving average of $36.19. The company has a market cap of $7.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. UGI has a 12-month low of $31.62 and a 12-month high of $41.34.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. UGI had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 9.20%. As a group, equities analysts expect that UGI will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kathleen Shea-Ballay sold 25,360 shares of UGI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.62, for a total transaction of $852,603.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 25,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,603.20. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in shares of UGI during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,680,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of UGI during the second quarter valued at approximately $427,000. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UGI during the second quarter valued at approximately $412,000. Man Group plc acquired a new stake in UGI during the second quarter worth approximately $10,102,000. Finally, Miller Value Partners LLC acquired a new stake in UGI during the second quarter worth approximately $4,179,000. 82.34% of the stock is currently 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.