UGI (NYSE:UGI) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $35.26 and traded as high as $38.47. UGI shares last traded at $38.4450, with a volume of 421,973 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on UGI shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of UGI in a report on Monday. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of UGI from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of UGI in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Wall Street Zen cut UGI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, UBS Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of UGI in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.50.

UGI Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $36.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.26. The stock has a market cap of $8.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 1.06.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 21st. The utilities provider reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by $0.21. UGI had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 9.30%.The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.27) EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that UGI Corporation will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UGI news, insider Joseph L. Hartz sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.45, for a total transaction of $192,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 33,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,287,767.40. This represents a 12.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UGI

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in UGI by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,863,933 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,254,000 after buying an additional 287,764 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of UGI by 170.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,470,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $89,968,000 after acquiring an additional 1,556,273 shares during the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of UGI by 3.1% in the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 1,554,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,402,000 after purchasing an additional 47,423 shares in the last quarter. HG Vora Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in UGI in the first quarter worth $33,070,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in UGI by 14.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 930,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,781,000 after purchasing an additional 116,372 shares in the last quarter. 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.