Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) by 75.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in UGI were worth $250,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in UGI by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 118,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,919,000 after acquiring an additional 6,407 shares during the period. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in shares of UGI by 2.1% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 131,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,219,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in UGI by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in UGI by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 14,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the period. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group lifted its stake in shares of UGI by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 20,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $475,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793 shares during the period. 82.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of UGI from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho upgraded shares of UGI from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of UGI in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of UGI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.33.

UGI Price Performance

UGI opened at $30.37 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $6.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.27. UGI Co. has a 52-week low of $21.51 and a 52-week high of $30.48.

UGI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.94%. UGI’s payout ratio is currently 120.97%.

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.