Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Has $7.39 Million Stake in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its stake in shares of UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) by 21.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 261,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,965 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. owned approximately 0.12% of UGI worth $7,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of UGI. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of UGI by 42.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,418,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $235,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,878 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of UGI by 2,050.9% during the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 2,375,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,067,000 after buying an additional 2,265,300 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of UGI by 33.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,762,970 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,246,000 after buying an additional 1,202,938 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of UGI by 47.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,503,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,630,000 after buying an additional 808,113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of UGI during the third quarter worth approximately $9,600,000. 82.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at UGI

In other news, insider Michael Sharp bought 4,806 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $33.30 per share, with a total value of $160,039.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 4,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $160,039.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

UGI Trading Up 1.4 %

UGI opened at $33.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.91. UGI Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.01 and a fifty-two week high of $34.49.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last issued 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UGI Co. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. UGI’s payout ratio is presently 59.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of UGI in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company.

UGI 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.