Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) Raised to “Buy” at HSBC

Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) was upgraded by stock analysts at HSBC from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on UGP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ultrapar Participações from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ultrapar Participações from $4.80 to $4.10 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Ultrapar Participações to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4.10.

Ultrapar Participações Stock Performance

UGP stock opened at $2.66 on Friday. Ultrapar Participações has a twelve month low of $2.53 and a twelve month high of $6.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s fifty day moving average is $2.90 and its 200-day moving average is $3.61.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 16.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 303,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 43,258 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 57.9% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,450,300 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $9,581,000 after purchasing an additional 898,600 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 128.2% in the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 66,631 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 37,436 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 332.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,429,946 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,591,000 after buying an additional 1,099,433 shares during the period. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 63.9% during the third quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 43,516 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 16,967 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

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.