Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 5,030 Shares of UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 492,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,030 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of UGI worth $13,894,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in UGI by 33.0% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 203,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,087,000 after purchasing an additional 50,485 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in UGI by 2,402.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 26,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 25,005 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in 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 during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in UGI by 35.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,227,732 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,718,000 after purchasing an additional 318,655 shares during the period. Finally, Commerce Bank bought a new position in UGI during the third quarter worth about $645,000. Institutional investors own 82.34% of the company’s stock.

UGI Stock Performance

NYSE UGI opened at $33.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.22 and a 200-day moving average of $26.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. UGI Co. has a 1-year low of $22.01 and a 1-year high of $33.58.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts forecast that UGI Co. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. UGI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of UGI from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of UGI in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company.

About UGI

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.