Ritholtz Wealth Management Acquires 99,324 Shares of Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP)

Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) by 54.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 283,247 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 99,324 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Ultrapar Participações were worth $1,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D Orazio & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações during the first quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Ultrapar Participações in the 1st quarter valued at $80,000. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações in the 2nd quarter valued at $57,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 567.5% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 15,833 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 13,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 36.1% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 17,923 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 4,757 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

Ultrapar Participações Stock Performance

Shares of UGP stock opened at $3.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of 7.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $4.08 and a 200-day moving average of $4.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Ultrapar Participações S.A. has a one year low of $3.66 and a one year high of $6.34.

Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter. Ultrapar Participações had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 20.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ultrapar Participações S.A. will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.0446 per share. This represents a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Ultrapar Participações’s payout ratio is presently 15.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on UGP shares. HSBC upgraded Ultrapar Participações from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Ultrapar Participações from $5.90 to $5.20 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.20.

About Ultrapar Participações

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.