Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 816,100 shares, a decrease of 18.1% from the September 30th total of 996,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Ultrapar Participações Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UGP traded down $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $3.62. 1,224,432 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,328,647. 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 has a 1 year low of $3.51 and a 1 year high of $6.34. The company has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.96, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $3.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.26.

Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ultrapar Participações will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a $0.0446 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Ultrapar Participações’s payout ratio is currently 15.38%.

Institutional Trading of Ultrapar Participações

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UGP. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 36.1% in the 1st 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 shares of Ultrapar Participações in the first quarter valued at approximately $328,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ultrapar Participações during the 1st quarter worth approximately $80,000. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 89,534 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 10,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its position in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 62.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 167,304 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 64,496 shares during the last quarter. 3.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.