Inspire Advisors LLC Purchases 10,203 Shares of UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)

Inspire Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 88,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,203 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in UGI were worth $2,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in UGI by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 10,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Hourglass Capital LLC grew its stake in UGI by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Hourglass Capital LLC now owns 82,520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,330,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. grew its stake in UGI by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 37,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in UGI by 0.4% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 110,875 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,774,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in UGI by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. 82.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Michael Sharp purchased 4,806 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $33.30 per share, with a total value of $160,039.80. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 4,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $160,039.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UGI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UGI opened at $32.41 on Tuesday. UGI Co. has a 52 week low of $22.01 and a 52 week high of $34.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

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

UGI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.63%. UGI’s payout ratio is currently 59.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on UGI. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of UGI in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Mizuho raised shares of UGI from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

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.