Energy Income Partners LLC Boosts Position in UGI Corporation $UGI

Energy Income Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,554,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 47,423 shares during the quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC owned approximately 0.72% of UGI worth $51,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CX Institutional purchased a new position in shares of UGI during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new position in UGI during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in UGI by 36.1% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in UGI during the 1st quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of UGI by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 1,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the period. 82.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UGI Price Performance

Shares of UGI stock opened at $34.62 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $35.66 and its 200 day moving average is $34.39. UGI Corporation has a 1-year low of $23.14 and a 1-year high of $37.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.05.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.11. UGI had a net margin of 5.70% and a return on equity of 15.73%. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that UGI Corporation will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. UGI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on UGI. Wall Street Zen lowered UGI from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of UGI from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of UGI to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UGI has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.33.

About UGI

UGI Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, distributes, stores, transports, and markets energy products and related services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: AmeriGas Propane, UGI International, Midstream & Marketing, and UGI Utilities. It distributes propane to approximately 1.3 million residential, commercial/industrial, motor fuel, agricultural, and wholesale customers through 1,400 propane distribution locations.