UGI (NYSE:UGI) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 1,595,857 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the previous session’s volume of 1,950,974 shares.The stock last traded at $37.5970 and had previously closed at $37.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of UGI in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of UGI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of UGI in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of UGI to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

UGI Trading Up 3.2%

The stock has a market cap of $8.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.42 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The utilities provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.21. UGI had a net margin of 5.70% and a return on equity of 15.73%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($1.27) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. UGI has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.900-3.15 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UGI Corporation will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UGI

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in UGI by 11.2% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,863,933 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $95,254,000 after acquiring an additional 287,764 shares during the period. Bare Financial Services Inc increased its stake in UGI by 103.8% during the third quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 1,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in UGI by 133.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 16,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 9,505 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UGI in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $163,000. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its position in shares of UGI by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 145,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,823,000 after acquiring an additional 13,892 shares during the period. 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.