Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday morning.

UGP has been the topic of several other reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Ultrapar Participações from $5.90 to $5.20 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.20.

Ultrapar Participações Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE UGP opened at $3.66 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Ultrapar Participações has a one year low of $3.63 and a one year high of $6.34. The firm has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 7.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.60.

Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08. Ultrapar Participações had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 20.24%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ultrapar Participações will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.0446 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a yield of 2.7%. Ultrapar Participações’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.38%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in Ultrapar Participações by 8.4% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,764,084 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $14,713,000 after acquiring an additional 293,036 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Ultrapar Participações by 57.9% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,450,300 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,581,000 after acquiring an additional 898,600 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Ultrapar Participações in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,887,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Ultrapar Participações by 332.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,429,946 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,591,000 after buying an additional 1,099,433 shares during the period. Finally, Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 27.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 441,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,726,000 after purchasing an additional 94,761 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

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.