Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 200,873 Shares of UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) by 28.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 497,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 200,873 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of UGI worth $12,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its position in UGI by 100.0% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of UGI in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in UGI during the second quarter worth $40,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in UGI by 189.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in UGI in the second quarter valued at $50,000. 82.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

UGI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UGI opened at $27.99 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $26.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.81. The firm has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.57 and a beta of 1.21. UGI Co. has a one year low of $21.67 and a one year high of $30.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

UGI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.36%. UGI’s payout ratio is presently 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.