UGI Co. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.38 (NYSE:UGI)

UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.375 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%.

UGI has raised its dividend by an average of 3.2% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 22 years. UGI has a dividend payout ratio of 49.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect UGI to earn $3.09 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.50 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 48.5%.

UGI Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE UGI traded up $0.29 on Wednesday, hitting $31.35. 1,756,206 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,815,104. The company has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a PE ratio of 25.28 and a beta of 1.21. UGI has a 12 month low of $22.01 and a 12 month high of $31.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $29.00 and a 200-day moving average of $26.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

UGI (NYSE:UGI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.16. UGI had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 14.64%. As a group, analysts forecast that UGI will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on UGI. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of UGI from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho upgraded shares of UGI from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $30.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of UGI in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.33.

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.