Hennessy Advisors Inc. Decreases Stake in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) by 7.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 90,952 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,800 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in UGI were worth $2,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UGI in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,034,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in UGI by 309.1% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,175,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,033,000 after acquiring an additional 888,072 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in UGI by 3.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,271,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $604,255,000 after acquiring an additional 781,929 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new position in UGI in the third quarter valued at about $16,100,000. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UGI in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,965,000. 82.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UGI has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of UGI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on UGI from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of UGI from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th.

UGI Stock Performance

UGI traded up $0.04 on Friday, hitting $22.73. 1,549,728 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,328,178. UGI Co. has a 12-month low of $20.19 and a 12-month high of $27.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.22 and a 200-day moving average of $24.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of -55.34 and a beta of 1.14.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.32. UGI had a positive return on equity of 15.78% and a negative net margin of 0.89%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UGI Co. will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is presently -365.84%.

About UGI

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.