EMC Capital Management Grows Holdings in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)

EMC Capital Management lifted its stake in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) by 848.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,488 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,488 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management’s holdings in UGI were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in UGI in the second quarter worth about $392,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UGI by 135.7% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,096,382 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,107,000 after buying an additional 631,124 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in UGI by 116.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 185,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,254,000 after purchasing an additional 99,820 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in UGI by 9.4% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 89,151 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,042,000 after buying an additional 7,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UGI during the 2nd quarter worth about $448,000. 82.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UGI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of UGI in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho upgraded shares of UGI from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $27.00 to $30.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on UGI from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.33.

UGI Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of UGI traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $30.59. 65,725 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,732,574. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.80. UGI Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.01 and a fifty-two week high of $30.93. The company has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.68 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $28.66 and its 200-day moving average is $25.84.

UGI Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. UGI’s payout ratio is currently 120.97%.

UGI 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.