Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $5.30 and last traded at $5.3240, with a volume of 654676 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $5.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.40 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.40.

Ultrapar Participacoes Trading Up 2.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a PE ratio of 11.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Ultrapar Participacoes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a $0.1876 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. Ultrapar Participacoes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ultrapar Participacoes

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UGP. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Ultrapar Participacoes by 42.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,695,322 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,841,000 after purchasing an additional 803,065 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 1,248.8% during the second quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 497,253 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,631,000 after purchasing an additional 460,388 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 39.6% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 616,345 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,022,000 after purchasing an additional 174,818 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 54.1% during the second quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 411,999 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after purchasing an additional 144,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 42.7% in the second quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 32,797 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 9,815 shares in the last quarter. 3.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ultrapar Participacoes Company Profile

Ultrapar Participações SA is a Brazilian diversified holding company operating in the downstream energy and chemical sectors. Its Ipiranga unit runs one of Brazil’s largest networks of fuel stations, supplying gasoline, ethanol, diesel and convenience-store products to retail and wholesale customers. Through Ultragaz, the company is a leading distributor of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), offering cylinder and bulk gas solutions for residential, commercial and industrial use across urban and rural regions.

In the specialty chemicals arena, Ultrapar controls Oxiteno, which produces surfactants and specialty chemical formulations for industries such as personal care, oil and gas, agrochemicals and coatings.