Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $3.50, but opened at $3.64. Ultrapar Participações shares last traded at $3.65, with a volume of 73,842 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on UGP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Ultrapar Participações from $5.90 to $5.20 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. HSBC raised shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ultrapar Participações from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.20.

Ultrapar Participações Stock Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of 6.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.61. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.23.

Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.08. Ultrapar Participações had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 20.24%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ultrapar Participações S.A. will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued 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 15.38%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participações in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações in the second quarter worth about $57,000. D Orazio & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 30.3% in the second quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 15,046 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 3,498 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 567.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 15,833 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 13,461 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Ultrapar Participações by 67.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 16,017 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 6,476 shares in the last quarter. 3.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.