Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) Short Interest Update

Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,000,000 shares, a decline of 36.3% from the January 31st total of 7,850,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,900,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Ultrapar Participações Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of UGP traded down $0.02 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $2.83. 1,000,965 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,264,848. Ultrapar Participações has a twelve month low of $2.53 and a twelve month high of $5.97. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 6.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.0774 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Ultrapar Participações’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participações in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participações in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Wolverine Trading LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participações in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Freedom Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participações in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 19,705 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 3,688 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of Ultrapar Participações to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 27th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $4.10 to $3.20 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3.20.

About Ultrapar Participações

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.