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

Shares of Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $6.45, but opened at $6.70. Ultrapar Participacoes shares last traded at $6.6650, with a volume of 298,712 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UGP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised Ultrapar Participacoes from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $6.80 to $7.40 in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from $7.00 to $7.20 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from $6.50 to $5.80 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6.40.

Ultrapar Participacoes Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $5.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.60.

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. Ultrapar Participacoes had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 2.28%.The company had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.18 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Ultrapar Participacoes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be paid a $0.1932 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 26th. This represents a dividend yield of 599.0%. Ultrapar Participacoes’s payout ratio is currently 50.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ultrapar Participacoes by 10.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 70,838 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 6,947 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Ultrapar Participacoes by 75.2% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,878,904 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,163,000 after purchasing an additional 806,463 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Ultrapar Participacoes by 100.8% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 22,832 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 11,461 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Ultrapar Participacoes by 80.9% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 177,847 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 79,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 26.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 66,997 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 14,060 shares during the period. 3.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.