Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on UGP. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from $7.20 to $7.90 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Bank of America raised shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $6.80 to $7.40 in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ultrapar Participacoes from $6.50 to $5.80 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Zacks Research upgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded Ultrapar Participacoes from a “sector outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.54.

Ultrapar Participacoes Stock Performance

NYSE:UGP opened at $7.75 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.71. Ultrapar Participacoes has a fifty-two week low of $3.60 and a fifty-two week high of $8.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.25.

Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.18 billion. Ultrapar Participacoes had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 2.28%. Research analysts anticipate that Ultrapar Participacoes will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Ultrapar Participacoes Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ultrapar Participacoes

In other news, CEO Decio De Sampaio Amaral sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.93, for a total value of $55,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 151,432 shares in the company, valued at $1,049,423.76. This trade represents a 5.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 value of $227,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 57,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $438,866.84. This trade represents a 34.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,785 shares of company stock worth $587,312. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ultrapar Participacoes

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Ultrapar Participacoes during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,704,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in 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 worth $5,109,000 after acquiring an additional 650,988 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake 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. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes during the 3rd quarter worth $2,733,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participacoes by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 945,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,210,000 after acquiring an additional 282,887 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

Ultrapar Participacoes Company Profile

Ultrapar Participações SA is a Brazilian holding company whose businesses focus on fuel distribution, liquefied petroleum gas and transportation infrastructure. Through its subsidiaries, the company serves commercial, industrial, retail and residential customers, primarily in Brazil.

Ipiranga is Ultrapar’s fuel-distribution business, supplying gasoline, ethanol, diesel and other fuels through a network of service stations and commercial channels. Ultragaz distributes liquefied petroleum gas for household, commercial and industrial use, including bottled and bulk products.

Ultrapar also operates Ultracargo, a provider of liquid bulk storage and transportation infrastructure for fuels, chemicals and other products.