Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys 1,497,300 Shares of Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP)

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) by 74.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,513,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,497,300 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Ultrapar Participações were worth $9,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Ultrapar Participações by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,811,400 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,764,000 after buying an additional 115,600 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,776,107 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,671,000 after acquiring an additional 108,213 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 763.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,374,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,616,000 after acquiring an additional 1,215,605 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Ultrapar Participações by 162.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 599,642 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,577,000 after purchasing an additional 370,960 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Ultrapar Participações in the fourth quarter worth $374,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.58% of the company’s stock.

Ultrapar Participações Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE UGP opened at $2.98 on Friday. Ultrapar Participações S.A. has a 1 year low of $2.53 and a 1 year high of $5.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.07. The company has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.47, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.0774 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Ultrapar Participações’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ultrapar Participações from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ultrapar Participações from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $4.10 to $3.20 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Ultrapar Participações from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank upgraded Ultrapar Participações to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 27th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Ultrapar Participações from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3.20.

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.