UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) Shares Bought by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 350,675 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,643 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in UGI were worth $9,900,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UGI by 37.8% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 40,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 11,040 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in UGI during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Commerce Bank bought a new position in UGI during the 3rd quarter worth $645,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in UGI by 6.8% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 469,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,752,000 after buying an additional 30,003 shares during the period. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC bought a new stake in UGI in the third quarter valued at $9,600,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at UGI

In other UGI news, insider Michael Sharp acquired 4,806 shares of UGI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $33.30 per share, for a total transaction of $160,039.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $160,039.80. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of UGI in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock.

UGI Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of UGI stock opened at $33.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.82. UGI Co. has a 1-year low of $22.01 and a 1-year high of $34.49. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $31.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.87. The company has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.17.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.16. UGI had a net margin of 7.73% and a return on equity of 15.19%. As a group, research analysts forecast that UGI Co. will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. UGI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.06%.

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.