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

UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 21st,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of 0.375 per share by the utilities provider on Wednesday, January 1st. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th.

UGI has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 36 consecutive years. UGI has a dividend payout ratio of 50.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect UGI to earn $3.20 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 46.9%.

UGI Stock Performance

Shares of UGI opened at $28.52 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.00 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $24.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71. UGI has a 1 year low of $21.51 and a 1 year high of $28.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered UGI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on UGI in a research note on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on UGI from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded UGI from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.