Proficio Capital Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 20,608 UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 20,608 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $582,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UGI. Hourglass Capital LLC grew its stake in UGI by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Hourglass Capital LLC now owns 82,520 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,330,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. grew its position in shares of UGI by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 37,206 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UGI by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 110,875 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,774,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of UGI by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,749 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abundance Wealth Counselors raised its position in shares of UGI by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 29,514 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $833,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.34% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on UGI. Mizuho raised shares of UGI from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $30.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of UGI in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $28.00 price target for the company.

UGI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UGI traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $32.28. The company had a trading volume of 2,561,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,171,021. UGI Co. has a 12 month low of $22.01 and a 12 month high of $34.49. The stock has a market cap of $6.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $31.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.59.

UGI (NYSE:UGI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.16. UGI had a return on equity of 15.19% and a net margin of 7.73%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UGI Co. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. UGI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.06%.

Insider Activity

In other UGI news, insider Michael Sharp purchased 4,806 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $33.30 per share, with a total value of $160,039.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,806 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $160,039.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

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.