Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $3.20.

Several research firms recently issued reports on UGP. Scotiabank upgraded Ultrapar Participações to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 27th. HSBC upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $4.10 to $3.20 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Ultrapar Participações Price Performance

Ultrapar Participações stock opened at $3.12 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.77, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Ultrapar Participações has a 12 month low of $2.53 and a 12 month high of $5.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $2.91 and its 200-day moving average is $3.17.

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.0774 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. Ultrapar Participações’s dividend payout ratio is 33.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ultrapar Participações

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Ultrapar Participações by 162.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 599,642 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,577,000 after buying an additional 370,960 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Trading LLC bought a new stake in Ultrapar Participações during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Ultrapar Participações by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 131,129 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 11,791 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Ultrapar Participações by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,382,300 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,635,000 after purchasing an additional 220,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,654,373 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,351,000 after purchasing an additional 608,951 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

About Ultrapar Participações

Ultrapar Participações SA, through its subsidiaries, operates in the energy and infrastructure business in Brazil. The company distributes liquefied petroleum gas to residential, commercial, and industrial consumers, in addition to renewable electricity and compressed natural gas. It also operates in the distribution and marketing of gasoline, ethanol, diesel, fuel oil, kerosene, natural gas for vehicles, and lubricants; and holds AmPm convenience stores and provides JetOil lubricant services.