UGI (NYSE:UGI) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

UGI (NYSE:UGI) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on UGI. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on UGI from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Mizuho increased their target price on UGI from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th.

UGI Price Performance

NYSE:UGI opened at $23.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -56.24 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.04. UGI has a 1 year low of $20.19 and a 1 year high of $27.78.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. UGI had a negative net margin of 0.89% and a positive return on equity of 15.78%. UGI’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that UGI will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UGI

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in UGI by 316.5% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 179,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,118,000 after acquiring an additional 136,058 shares in the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in UGI during the third quarter valued at approximately $857,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in UGI by 227.9% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 199,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,592,000 after buying an additional 138,751 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in UGI by 93.2% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 71,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,647,000 after buying an additional 34,533 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in UGI by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,271,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $604,255,000 after acquiring an additional 781,929 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

UGI Company Profile

UGI Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, distributes, stores, transports, and markets energy products and related services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: AmeriGas Propane, UGI International, Midstream & Marketing, and UGI Utilities. It distributes propane to approximately 1.3 million residential, commercial/industrial, motor fuel, agricultural, and wholesale customers through 1,400 propane distribution locations.