StockNews.com Lowers Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on UGP. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Ultrapar Participações from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Ultrapar Participações from $5.90 to $5.20 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. HSBC upgraded Ultrapar Participações from a reduce rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Ultrapar Participações from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $5.20.

Ultrapar Participações Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of UGP stock opened at $3.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of 7.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.61. Ultrapar Participações has a fifty-two week low of $3.39 and a fifty-two week high of $6.34.

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

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a $0.0446 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.7%. Ultrapar Participações’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ultrapar Participações

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 175.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,471,048 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $19,850,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211,696 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Ultrapar Participações during the second quarter worth $5,887,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Ultrapar Participações by 332.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,429,946 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,591,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099,433 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Ultrapar Participações by 57.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,450,300 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,581,000 after acquiring an additional 898,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Ultrapar Participações by 1,497.3% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 153,473 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 143,865 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

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.