Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $3.20.

UGP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. HSBC upgraded Ultrapar Participações from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank raised Ultrapar Participações to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 27th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Ultrapar Participações from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $4.10 to $3.20 in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Institutional Trading of Ultrapar Participações

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 74.3% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,513,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497,300 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,821,125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,420,000 after buying an additional 444,724 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,811,400 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,764,000 after buying an additional 115,600 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,776,107 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,671,000 after buying an additional 108,213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in Ultrapar Participações by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,654,373 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,351,000 after acquiring an additional 608,951 shares during the period. 3.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ultrapar Participações Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:UGP opened at $3.16 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $2.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ultrapar Participações has a fifty-two week low of $2.53 and a fifty-two week high of $5.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.42.

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.0774 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a yield of 3.8%. Ultrapar Participações’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

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.