Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $7.78 and last traded at $7.6660, with a volume of 4792493 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $7.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on UGP shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from $7.20 to $7.90 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $6.80 to $7.40 in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from $6.50 to $5.80 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “sector outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.54.

Ultrapar Participacoes Trading Down 5.3%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $6.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.91. The company has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. Ultrapar Participacoes had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 18.84%. The firm had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.18 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ultrapar Participacoes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 26th were given a $0.1932 dividend. This represents a yield of 599.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 26th. Ultrapar Participacoes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Decio De Sampaio Amaral sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.93, for a total transaction of $55,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 151,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,423.76. This trade represents a 5.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Pedro Guedes Rabelo sold 30,000 shares of Ultrapar Participacoes stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.58, for a total value of $227,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 57,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $438,866.84. This represents a 34.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 77,785 shares of company stock valued at $587,312 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ultrapar Participacoes

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LP increased its position in Ultrapar Participacoes by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 62,497 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 1,651 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 2.8% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 64,807 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 45.0% in the first 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 stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 0.7% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 450,668 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,483,000 after acquiring an additional 3,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $464,000 after acquiring an additional 4,779 shares during the last quarter. 3.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Ultrapar Participacoes

Ultrapar Participações SA is a Brazilian holding company with operations focused on fuel distribution, liquefied petroleum gas and bulk liquid storage. The company traces its origins to 1937, when it was established as Companhia Brasileira de Gás a Domicílio, the predecessor of Ultragaz. Ultrapar’s American depositary shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol UGP.

Its principal businesses include Ipiranga, a fuel distribution company that supplies gasoline, ethanol, diesel and other fuels through a nationwide network of service stations.