UGI (NYSE:UGI) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $33.62 and last traded at $33.57, with a volume of 144547 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on UGI shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of UGI in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho upgraded UGI from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $30.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th.

UGI Stock Up 2.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.16. UGI had a return on equity of 15.19% and a net margin of 7.73%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that UGI Co. will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. UGI’s payout ratio is 59.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UGI

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of UGI by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,529,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $325,469,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110,337 shares during the last quarter. Snyder Capital Management L P raised its position in UGI by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Snyder Capital Management L P now owns 5,126,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $144,727,000 after purchasing an additional 78,327 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in UGI by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,058,998 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $157,200,000 after purchasing an additional 296,028 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in UGI by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,962,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,098,000 after buying an additional 1,007,156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in UGI by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,002,419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $112,988,000 after buying an additional 703,491 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

About UGI

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.