UGI (NYSE:UGI) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on UGI. TheStreet raised shares of UGI from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of UGI from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of UGI from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $28.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th.

UGI Stock Performance

NYSE UGI traded up $0.09 on Thursday, reaching $23.79. 2,023,645 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,961,991. UGI has a one year low of $20.19 and a one year high of $35.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a PE ratio of -10.81 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.08. UGI had a negative net margin of 5.48% and a positive return on equity of 14.09%. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. Analysts expect that UGI will post 2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UGI

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UGI. US Bancorp DE increased its position in UGI by 35.2% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 16,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 4,176 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its position in UGI by 13.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 13,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,618 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in UGI by 7.9% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 74,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,704,000 after purchasing an additional 5,396 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its position in UGI by 23.0% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 7,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its position in UGI by 7.3% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 173,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,489,000 after purchasing an additional 11,826 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.