Short Interest in Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) Drops By 17.8%

Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,340,000 shares, a decline of 17.8% from the August 15th total of 1,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,250,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Institutional Trading of Ultrapar Participações

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Ultrapar Participações by 175.6% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,471,048 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $19,850,000 after buying an additional 2,211,696 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Ultrapar Participações by 60.0% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 356,835 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,041,000 after purchasing an additional 133,791 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Ultrapar Participações in the first quarter worth about $143,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Ultrapar Participações by 112.6% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 25,044 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 13,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participações in the first quarter worth approximately $328,000. 3.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ultrapar Participações Price Performance

Shares of UGP stock opened at $4.16 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $4.16 and its 200 day moving average is $4.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.67, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.61. Ultrapar Participações has a twelve month low of $3.39 and a twelve month high of $6.34.

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

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.0446 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.7%. Ultrapar Participações’s payout ratio is 16.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Ultrapar Participações from $5.90 to $5.20 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com raised Ultrapar Participações from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. HSBC upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.25.

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.