Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on UGP. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Ultrapar Participações from $5.90 to $5.20 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Hsbc Global Res raised Ultrapar Participações from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. HSBC raised Ultrapar Participações from a reduce rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised Ultrapar Participações from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ultrapar Participações presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $5.20.

Ultrapar Participações Price Performance

Shares of Ultrapar Participações stock opened at $3.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.63. Ultrapar Participações has a one year low of $3.39 and a one year high of $6.34.

Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter. Ultrapar Participações had a return on equity of 20.24% and a net margin of 2.21%. Equities analysts expect that Ultrapar Participações will post 0.34 EPS for the current year.

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.0446 per share. This represents a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Ultrapar Participações’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ultrapar Participações

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Ultrapar Participações by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,764,084 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $14,713,000 after purchasing an additional 293,036 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 898,600 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participações in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,887,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 332.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,429,946 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,591,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099,433 shares during the period. Finally, Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 27.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 441,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,726,000 after acquiring an additional 94,761 shares during the period. 3.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.