Federated Hermes Inc. Buys 130,010 Shares of UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI)

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,502,192 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 130,010 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in UGI were worth $61,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stolper Co bought a new position in UGI in the 4th quarter worth $1,927,000. Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of UGI by 316.5% in the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 179,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,118,000 after acquiring an additional 136,058 shares in the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of UGI by 247.8% in the 4th quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 58,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,434,000 after acquiring an additional 41,546 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of UGI by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,271,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $604,255,000 after acquiring an additional 781,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its stake in shares of UGI by 644.3% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 209,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,822,000 after acquiring an additional 181,491 shares in the last quarter. 82.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UGI Stock Up 8.2 %

Shares of UGI stock opened at $25.74 on Friday. UGI Co. has a one year low of $20.19 and a one year high of $35.18. The company’s 50-day moving average is $24.38 and its 200 day moving average is $23.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.08. UGI had a negative net margin of 5.48% and a positive return on equity of 14.09%. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that UGI Co. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UGI Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. UGI’s payout ratio is presently -68.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of UGI from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of UGI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of UGI from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of UGI from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st.

UGI 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.