Analysts Set UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) Price Target at $43.33

Shares of UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.3333.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UGI shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 price target (down from $45.00) on shares of UGI in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on UGI in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded UGI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th.

UGI Trading Up 1.2%

UGI opened at $36.01 on Friday. UGI has a 1-year low of $31.62 and a 1-year high of $41.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $7.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $34.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.55.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. UGI had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 13.81%. UGI’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.21 EPS. Analysts predict that UGI will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UGI news, insider Kathleen Shea-Ballay sold 25,360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.62, for a total transaction of $852,603.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 25,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,603.20. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UGI

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UGI. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its position in UGI by 234.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 95,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,178,000 after acquiring an additional 66,946 shares in the last quarter. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in UGI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $600,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of UGI by 11.2% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,863,933 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $95,254,000 after purchasing an additional 287,764 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of UGI by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 227,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,514,000 after purchasing an additional 18,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of UGI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,696,000. 82.34% of the stock is owned by 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.