Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Analysts

Shares of Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:UGP) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $6.54.

UGP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ultrapar Participacoes from $7.20 to $7.90 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Ultrapar Participacoes from $6.50 to $5.80 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Scotiabank lowered Ultrapar Participacoes from a “sector outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $6.80 to $7.40 in a report on Wednesday, July 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ultrapar Participacoes

In other news, CFO Andre Saleme Hachem sold 39,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.67, for a total transaction of $300,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 25,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,927.25. This represents a 60.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Pedro Guedes Rabelo sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.58, for a total transaction of $227,400.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 57,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $438,866.84. The trade was a 34.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 77,785 shares of company stock valued at $587,312. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ultrapar Participacoes

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Ultrapar Participacoes during the second quarter worth about $6,704,000. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. bought a new stake in Ultrapar Participacoes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,631,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 235.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 927,216 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,109,000 after buying an additional 650,988 shares during the last quarter. Capital Innovations LLC bought a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,528,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,740,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $20,611,000 after acquiring an additional 357,922 shares during the last quarter. 3.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ultrapar Participacoes Price Performance

Shares of UGP opened at $7.78 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.71. Ultrapar Participacoes has a 1 year low of $3.60 and a 1 year high of $8.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $6.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.18 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Ultrapar Participacoes will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Ultrapar Participacoes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $0.1932 per share. This represents a yield of 599.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 26th. Ultrapar Participacoes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.82%.

Ultrapar Participacoes Company Profile

Ultrapar Participações SA is a Brazilian holding company with operations focused on energy, fuel distribution and logistics. Through its businesses, the company supplies fuels, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and related services to consumers, commercial customers and industrial clients.

Its principal businesses include Ipiranga, one of Brazil’s major fuel distribution companies, and Ultragaz, which distributes LPG for residential, commercial and industrial use. Ultrapar also owns Ultracargo, a provider of storage and handling services for liquid bulk products, including fuels, chemicals and other industrial materials.

Ultrapar’s operations are concentrated primarily in Brazil, with activities supported by distribution networks, terminals and storage infrastructure across key regions of the country.