Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $4.25.

Several brokerages have issued reports on UGP. Citigroup raised Ultrapar Participações from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. HSBC raised shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Ultrapar Participações from $5.90 to $5.20 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Ultrapar Participações from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th.

Ultrapar Participações Trading Down 1.7 %

UGP opened at $4.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.78. Ultrapar Participações has a 12 month low of $3.39 and a 12 month high of $6.34.

Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter. Ultrapar Participações had a return on equity of 20.24% and a net margin of 2.21%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ultrapar Participações will post 0.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.0446 per share. This represents a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Ultrapar Participações’s dividend payout ratio is 16.67%.

Institutional Trading of Ultrapar Participações

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in Ultrapar Participações during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações during the 2nd quarter valued at about $57,000. D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 30.3% in the second quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 15,046 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 3,498 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Ultrapar Participações by 567.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 15,833 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 13,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Ultrapar Participações in the first quarter valued at $80,000. 3.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.