UGI (NYSE:UGI) Price Target Raised to $44.00

UGI (NYSE:UGI) had its price target lifted by Mizuho from $41.00 to $44.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on UGI. Wall Street Zen downgraded UGI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of UGI in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of UGI in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.50.

UGI Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE UGI opened at $38.30 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $8.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 1.06. UGI has a 12-month low of $26.73 and a 12-month high of $39.59. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 21st. The utilities provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during 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 15.10%. The business’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.27) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UGI will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is 48.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UGI

In related news, insider Joseph L. Hartz sold 15,000 shares of UGI stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.68, for a total transaction of $580,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 33,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,295,470.56. The trade was a 30.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UGI

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of UGI by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 98,812 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,599,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in UGI by 3.8% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 9,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 position 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 during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of UGI by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. 82.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UGI Company Profile

UGI Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, distributes, stores, transports, and markets energy products and related services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: AmeriGas Propane, UGI International, Midstream & Marketing, and UGI Utilities. It distributes propane to approximately 1.3 million residential, commercial/industrial, motor fuel, agricultural, and wholesale customers through 1,400 propane distribution locations.