UGI (NYSE:UGI) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.16 EPS

UGI (NYSE:UGI - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.16, Zacks reports. UGI had a net margin of 7.73% and a return on equity of 15.21%.

UGI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UGI traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $32.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,401,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,850,041. The company has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.21. UGI has a 12-month low of $22.01 and a 12-month high of $32.63. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $29.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.80.

UGI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. UGI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on UGI in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 shares of UGI from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.33.

UGI Company 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.