CENTRAL TRUST Co Lowers Stake in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)

CENTRAL TRUST Co trimmed its position in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in UGI were worth $97,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in UGI by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of UGI by 67.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in UGI by 189.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in UGI during the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in UGI in the 4th quarter worth $70,000. 82.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UGI Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE UGI opened at $31.35 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $29.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.07. UGI Co. has a 52-week low of $22.01 and a 52-week high of $31.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.28 and a beta of 1.21.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.16. UGI had a return on equity of 14.64% and a net margin of 3.73%. On average, analysts anticipate that UGI Co. will post 3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.78%. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 120.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UGI. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on UGI from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho upgraded UGI from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $30.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on UGI in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UGI presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.33.

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.