Hamlin Capital Management LLC Sells 102,109 Shares of UGI Corporation $UGI

Hamlin Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) by 3.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,554,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 102,109 shares during the quarter. UGI accounts for about 2.2% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Hamlin Capital Management LLC owned about 1.19% of UGI worth $91,113,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vista Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of UGI during the third quarter worth $662,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. grew its position in UGI by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 3,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its position in UGI by 349.4% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 4,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 3,249 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of UGI by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,115 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UGI by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 143,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,967,000 after buying an additional 11,032 shares during the period. 82.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UGI Price Performance

UGI traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $37.04. 535,792 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,910,677. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.11. UGI Corporation has a 52-week low of $31.62 and a 52-week high of $41.34. The company has a market capitalization of $7.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

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). UGI had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 9.20%.The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that UGI Corporation will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.3750 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. UGI’s payout ratio is presently 50.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on UGI shares. Zacks Research lowered UGI from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of UGI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of UGI from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of UGI in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of UGI from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.80.

About UGI

UGI Corporation is a diversified energy company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Through its subsidiaries, the company distributes and markets natural gas, propane, electricity and related energy products to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers.

UGI Utilities operates regulated natural gas and electric distribution businesses in Pennsylvania and provides natural gas, electric and related services to customers in the region. The company also owns AmeriGas, one of the largest retail propane distributors in the United States, serving households, businesses, agricultural customers and other end users through a nationwide distribution network.

UGI has additional energy operations in Europe through its international LPG businesses and participates in energy marketing, midstream and related activities.