Insider Selling: UGI (NYSE:UGI) Insider Sells 25,360 Shares

UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) insider Kathleen Shea-Ballay sold 25,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.62, for a total transaction of $852,603.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,360 shares in the company, valued at $852,603.20. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

UGI Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:UGI traded up $1.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $34.81. 2,624,397 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,950,899. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.81. The company has a market cap of $7.46 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.94. UGI Corporation has a 12 month low of $31.62 and a 12 month high of $41.34.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.02). UGI had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 8.71%.The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UGI Corporation will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is 52.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on UGI shares. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on UGI in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (down from $45.00) on shares of UGI in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of UGI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UGI presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.33.

Institutional Trading of UGI

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc grew its stake in shares of UGI by 103.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 1,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in UGI in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new stake in UGI during the fourth quarter valued at about $75,000. Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new stake in UGI during the fourth quarter valued at about $93,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in UGI by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 3,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. 82.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.