UGI (NYSE:UGI) Upgraded at Zacks Research

UGI (NYSE:UGI) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of UGI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of UGI from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of UGI from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Huntington initiated coverage on shares of UGI in a research note on Monday, September 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of UGI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UGI has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.80.

UGI Stock Performance

Shares of UGI stock opened at $39.28 on Monday. UGI has a twelve month low of $31.65 and a twelve month high of $41.34. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.69.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that UGI will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in UGI during the 2nd quarter worth $73,069,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of UGI by 75.7% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,335,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,130,000 after purchasing an additional 575,239 shares during the period. Energy Income Partners LLC grew its position in shares of UGI by 1.5% in the second quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 1,302,403 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,985,000 after purchasing an additional 18,808 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of UGI by 10.8% during the second quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,057,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,539,000 after buying an additional 103,470 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in UGI by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 662,274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,875,000 after purchasing an additional 69,054 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

UGI Company Profile

UGI Corporation is a diversified energy company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1882 as the United Gas Improvement Company, it has developed into an operator and distributor of energy businesses serving residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers.

Through UGI Utilities, the company distributes natural gas and provides electric utility service in parts of Pennsylvania. Its other operations include natural gas marketing, midstream services and energy-related activities in the United States, along with propane distribution through AmeriGas and liquefied petroleum gas distribution in Europe through UGI International.

UGI’s businesses serve customers across the United States and selected European markets.