Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) Shares Up 5.9% – Still a Buy?

Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP)’s share price rose 5.9% on Monday . The company traded as high as $6.51 and last traded at $6.5250. 2,549,861 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average session volume of 3,010,801 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on UGP. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group raised their price target on Ultrapar Participacoes from $7.00 to $7.20 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $6.80 to $7.40 in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6.32.

Ultrapar Participacoes Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $5.71 and a 200-day moving average of $5.51. The company has a market cap of $7.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.40, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.18 billion. Ultrapar Participacoes had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 2.28%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ultrapar Participacoes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be given a $0.1932 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 634.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 26th. Ultrapar Participacoes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.43%.

Institutional Trading of Ultrapar Participacoes

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Ultrapar Participacoes by 42,357.3% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,147,914 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $8,098,000 after purchasing an additional 2,142,855 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 306.4% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,796,662 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,466,000 after buying an additional 2,108,543 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 98.2% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,214,612 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $15,889,000 after buying an additional 2,087,852 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,876,000. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 131.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,890,033 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,849,000 after buying an additional 1,643,562 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

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.