First Eagle Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) by 80.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,817 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in UGI were worth $241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UGI. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UGI by 42.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,418,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $235,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,878 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of UGI by 2,050.9% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 2,375,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,067,000 after purchasing an additional 2,265,300 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in UGI by 33.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,762,970 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,246,000 after buying an additional 1,202,938 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in UGI by 47.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,503,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,630,000 after buying an additional 808,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of UGI by 105.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,507,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,712,000 after acquiring an additional 774,770 shares during the last quarter. 82.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UGI Stock Up 3.6 %

UGI stock opened at $33.14 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $31.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.17. UGI Co. has a one year low of $22.01 and a one year high of $34.49.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 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, sell-side analysts expect that UGI Co. will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

UGI Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on UGI in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Activity at UGI

In related news, insider Michael Sharp purchased 4,806 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $33.30 per share, for a total transaction of $160,039.80. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,806 shares in the company, valued at $160,039.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.