Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) Receives $3.20 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $3.20.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UGP. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ultrapar Participações from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $4.10 to $3.20 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Ultrapar Participações from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Scotiabank upgraded Ultrapar Participações to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 27th. HSBC upgraded Ultrapar Participações from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Ultrapar Participações from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Ultrapar Participações during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in Ultrapar Participações in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Freedom Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ultrapar Participações in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Wolverine Trading LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 19,705 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 3,688 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

Ultrapar Participações Price Performance

Shares of Ultrapar Participações stock opened at $2.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $2.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.32. Ultrapar Participações has a one year low of $2.53 and a one year high of $5.97.

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.0774 per share. This represents a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Ultrapar Participações’s payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

About Ultrapar Participações

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.