WBI Investments LLC Trims Stake in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)

WBI Investments LLC lessened its holdings in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) by 40.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 44,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 31,008 shares during the period. WBI Investments LLC’s holdings in UGI were worth $1,263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in UGI by 22.4% during 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 grew its position in UGI by 1.6% during 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 stake in shares of UGI by 6.2% during the fourth 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. grew its position in UGI by 25.5% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of UGI by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,002,419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $112,988,000 after buying an additional 703,491 shares in the last quarter. 82.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UGI Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:UGI opened at $35.48 on Monday. UGI Co. has a twelve month low of $22.01 and a twelve month high of $35.50. The company has a market cap of $7.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $32.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.47.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $2.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. UGI had a net margin of 7.73% and a return on equity of 15.19%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.97 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that UGI Co. will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.23%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UGI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised UGI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho lifted their price target on UGI from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael Sharp acquired 4,806 shares of UGI stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $33.30 per share, with a total value of $160,039.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $160,039.80. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UGI Company Profile

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.