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

Shares of Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $5.20.

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

Ultrapar Participações Price Performance

Shares of Ultrapar Participações stock opened at $3.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.54. Ultrapar Participações has a twelve month low of $3.39 and a twelve month high of $6.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.55.

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

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Ultrapar Participações’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ultrapar Participações

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UGP. D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 3,498 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 36.1% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 17,923 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 4,757 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 22.9% during the first quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,337 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $162,000 after acquiring an additional 5,281 shares during the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 7.1% during the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 115,775 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 7,638 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Ultrapar Participações by 41.2% in the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 35,199 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 10,264 shares during the last quarter. 3.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ultrapar Participações Company Profile

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.