Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $46.13 Million Holdings in UGI Corporation $UGI

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) by 75.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,335,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 575,239 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in UGI were worth $46,130,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of UGI by 45.6% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,268 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in UGI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new position in UGI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new position in UGI in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in UGI by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 3,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Kathleen Shea-Ballay sold 25,360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.62, for a total value of $852,603.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 25,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,603.20. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of UGI from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of UGI from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of UGI from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated 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, Wall Street Zen cut UGI from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.00.

UGI Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:UGI opened at $35.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $35.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.44. UGI Corporation has a 52 week low of $31.62 and a 52 week high of $41.34.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. UGI had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 12.80%. On average, research analysts forecast that UGI Corporation will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. UGI’s payout ratio is presently 50.17%.

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.