Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) Rating Increased to Hold at Jefferies Financial Group

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) was upgraded by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $5.60 price objective on the oil and gas company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 12.88% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on UGP. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.40 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given 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 $5.50.

Ultrapar Participacoes Stock Performance

Shares of UGP traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $4.96. 1,031,298 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,072,014. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.85. Ultrapar Participacoes has a 52-week low of $2.70 and a 52-week high of $5.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.64 billion. Ultrapar Participacoes had a net margin of 1.72% and a return on equity of 14.11%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ultrapar Participacoes will post 0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UGP. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Ultrapar Participacoes during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Ultrapar Participacoes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 3.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ultrapar Participacoes

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.