Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,950,000 shares, a drop of 41.0% from the February 13th total of 5,000,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,620,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wolverine Trading LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 131,129 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 11,791 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,382,300 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,635,000 after acquiring an additional 220,200 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 58.2% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,654,373 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,351,000 after acquiring an additional 608,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 663,600 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,745,000 after acquiring an additional 252,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

Ultrapar Participações Stock Up 6.5 %

Ultrapar Participações stock opened at $3.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ultrapar Participações has a 52-week low of $2.53 and a 52-week high of $5.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $2.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.58, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.42.

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.0774 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a yield of 3.8%. Ultrapar Participações’s payout ratio is 33.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 27th. HSBC raised shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $4.10 to $3.20 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3.20.

Ultrapar Participações Company Profile

Ultrapar Participações SA, through its subsidiaries, operates in the energy and infrastructure business in Brazil. The company distributes liquefied petroleum gas to residential, commercial, and industrial consumers, in addition to renewable electricity and compressed natural gas. It also operates in the distribution and marketing of gasoline, ethanol, diesel, fuel oil, kerosene, natural gas for vehicles, and lubricants; and holds AmPm convenience stores and provides JetOil lubricant services.