Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $3.68 and last traded at $3.68, with a volume of 322986 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $3.78.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on UGP shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Ultrapar Participações from $5.90 to $5.20 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.20.

Ultrapar Participações Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.60. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $4.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter. Ultrapar Participações had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 20.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ultrapar Participações S.A. will post 0.34 EPS for the current year.

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.0446 per share. This represents a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Ultrapar Participações’s dividend payout ratio is 16.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ultrapar Participações

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UGP. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Ultrapar Participações by 22.9% during the first quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,337 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $162,000 after acquiring an additional 5,281 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Ultrapar Participações by 36.1% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 17,923 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 4,757 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ultrapar Participações during the first quarter worth about $328,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Ultrapar Participações during the first quarter worth about $80,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in Ultrapar Participações by 13.2% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 89,534 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 10,445 shares in the last quarter. 3.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.