Bridgewater Associates LP Buys 14,105 Shares of UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)

Bridgewater Associates LP grew its stake in shares of UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) by 95.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,934 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,105 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in UGI were worth $724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in UGI by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 436,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,928,000 after purchasing an additional 85,940 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of UGI by 42.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,418,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $235,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,878 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in UGI by 199.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 110,275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,749,000 after acquiring an additional 73,485 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in UGI by 75.4% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 10,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Finally, Pitcairn Co. bought a new position in UGI during the 3rd quarter worth about $296,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

UGI Stock Performance

Shares of UGI stock opened at $28.79 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21 and a beta of 1.13. UGI Co. has a 12-month low of $21.51 and a 12-month high of $30.48. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.30.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. UGI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 120.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of UGI from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on UGI from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on UGI in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded UGI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.33.

UGI Company 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.