UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) Receives $44.50 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $44.50.

UGI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of UGI from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of UGI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of UGI in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of UGI in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of UGI in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

Insider Activity at UGI

In other news, insider Joseph L. Hartz sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.68, for a total transaction of $580,200.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 33,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,295,470.56. This trade represents a 30.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UGI

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in UGI during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in shares of UGI by 103.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 1,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UGI in the 2nd quarter valued at $86,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position in shares of UGI by 2,246.7% in the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 3,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 3,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in UGI by 2,455.7% during the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 3,217 shares in the last quarter. 82.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UGI Price Performance

UGI stock opened at $37.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. UGI has a 52-week low of $28.04 and a 52-week high of $39.59. The firm has a market cap of $7.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day moving average is $37.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.35.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 21st. The utilities provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by $0.21. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. UGI had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 9.30%.The company’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.27) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that UGI will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.23%.

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.