Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,220,000 shares, a decline of 26.1% from the May 15th total of 1,650,000 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,390,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on UGP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Ultrapar Participações from $5.30 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Itau BBA Securities downgraded Ultrapar Participações from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Ultrapar Participações from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised Ultrapar Participações from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ultrapar Participações has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.37.

Ultrapar Participações Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:UGP traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $4.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,566,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,191,495. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $4.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.37. Ultrapar Participações has a fifty-two week low of $3.39 and a fifty-two week high of $6.34.

Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The oil and gas company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $6.14 billion for the quarter. Ultrapar Participações had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 2.07%. As a group, analysts forecast that Ultrapar Participações will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ultrapar Participações during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $259,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Ultrapar Participações by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 498,079 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,828,000 after buying an additional 57,915 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Ultrapar Participações during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Clear Street Markets LLC acquired a new position in Ultrapar Participações during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $96,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Ultrapar Participações by 211.7% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 94,645 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 64,282 shares during the period. 3.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ultrapar Participações

Ultrapar Participações SA, through its subsidiaries, operates in the energy and infrastructure business in Brazil. The company distributes liquefied petroleum gas to residential, commercial, and industrial consumers, in addition to renewable electricity and compressed natural gas. It also operates in the distribution and marketing of gasoline, ethanol, diesel, fuel oil, kerosene, natural gas for vehicles, and lubricants; and holds AmPm convenience stores and provides JetOil lubricant services.