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Is UGI Stock a Prudent Choice for Your Portfolio Right Now?
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Key Takeaways
UGI's fiscal 2025 EPS estimate rose 2.3% to $3.13, with sales projected to grow 8.4% year over year.
UGI posted a 75.7% average earnings surprise across the past four quarters.
UGI shares rose 8.5% in three months, outperforming the industry's 1.9% gain.
UGI Corporation (UGI - Free Report) continues to benefit from strategic investments in infrastructure modernization, disciplined capital allocation and a focus on operational improvements. Given its growth opportunities and strong return on equity (ROE), UGI makes for a solid investment option in the utility sector.
Let’s focus on the factors that make this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company a strong investment pick at the moment.
Growth Projections & Surprise History of UGI
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2025 earnings per share (EPS) has moved up 2.3% in the past 90 days to $3.13.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2025 sales is pinned at $7.81 billion, indicating a year-over-year increase of 8.4%.
UGI’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 5.2%. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 75.7%.
UGI’s ROE Better Than Its Industry
ROE indicates how efficiently a company has been utilizing the funds to generate higher returns. Currently, UGI’s ROE is 16.21%, higher than the industry’s average of 9.24%. This indicates that the company has been utilizing the funds more constructively than its peers in the utility gas distribution industry.
UGI’s Liquidity
The company’s current ratio of 1.23 is better than the industry’s average of 0.63. A current ratio greater than one indicates that the company has enough short-term assets to liquidate to cover all short-term liabilities, if necessary.
UGI’s Debt Position
Currently, UGI’s total debt to capital is 58.34%, better than the sector’s average of 60.33%.
The time-to-interest earned ratio at the end of the fiscal second quarter of 2025 was 2.5. The ratio, being greater than one, reflects the company’s ability to meet future interest obligations without difficulties.
The Perks of Strategic Investments for UGI
UGI makes strategic investments to handle numerous capital projects, improve the safety and reliability of facilities used for natural gas production and storage, and update the system by replacing outdated infrastructure. These additions and upgrades enable it to serve the expanding customer base efficiently.
UGI invested $160 million in the fiscal second quarter to further strengthen its operations, with 79% invested in the natural gas businesses. It plans to invest $800-$900 million in fiscal 2025 to strengthen its operations, and $3.7-$4.1 billion through fiscal 2027.
UGI’s Dividend History
The consistently strong performance of the company has enabled it to reward its shareholders through annual dividend rate hikes. UGI has been paying dividends for the past 141 years. The CAGR for UGI’s 10-year dividend is 6% for fiscal 2014-2024. The company’s current dividend yield of 4.17% is better than the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s 1.19%.
UGI’s Share Price Performance
In the past three months, shares of the company have risen 8.5% compared with the industry’s 1.9% growth.
Image: Bigstock
Is UGI Stock a Prudent Choice for Your Portfolio Right Now?
Key Takeaways
UGI Corporation (UGI - Free Report) continues to benefit from strategic investments in infrastructure modernization, disciplined capital allocation and a focus on operational improvements. Given its growth opportunities and strong return on equity (ROE), UGI makes for a solid investment option in the utility sector.
Let’s focus on the factors that make this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company a strong investment pick at the moment.
Growth Projections & Surprise History of UGI
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2025 earnings per share (EPS) has moved up 2.3% in the past 90 days to $3.13.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2025 sales is pinned at $7.81 billion, indicating a year-over-year increase of 8.4%.
UGI’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 5.2%. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 75.7%.
UGI’s ROE Better Than Its Industry
ROE indicates how efficiently a company has been utilizing the funds to generate higher returns. Currently, UGI’s ROE is 16.21%, higher than the industry’s average of 9.24%. This indicates that the company has been utilizing the funds more constructively than its peers in the utility gas distribution industry.
UGI’s Liquidity
The company’s current ratio of 1.23 is better than the industry’s average of 0.63. A current ratio greater than one indicates that the company has enough short-term assets to liquidate to cover all short-term liabilities, if necessary.
UGI’s Debt Position
Currently, UGI’s total debt to capital is 58.34%, better than the sector’s average of 60.33%.
The time-to-interest earned ratio at the end of the fiscal second quarter of 2025 was 2.5. The ratio, being greater than one, reflects the company’s ability to meet future interest obligations without difficulties.
The Perks of Strategic Investments for UGI
UGI makes strategic investments to handle numerous capital projects, improve the safety and reliability of facilities used for natural gas production and storage, and update the system by replacing outdated infrastructure. These additions and upgrades enable it to serve the expanding customer base efficiently.
UGI invested $160 million in the fiscal second quarter to further strengthen its operations, with 79% invested in the natural gas businesses. It plans to invest $800-$900 million in fiscal 2025 to strengthen its operations, and $3.7-$4.1 billion through fiscal 2027.
UGI’s Dividend History
The consistently strong performance of the company has enabled it to reward its shareholders through annual dividend rate hikes. UGI has been paying dividends for the past 141 years. The CAGR for UGI’s 10-year dividend is 6% for fiscal 2014-2024. The company’s current dividend yield of 4.17% is better than the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s 1.19%.
UGI’s Share Price Performance
In the past three months, shares of the company have risen 8.5% compared with the industry’s 1.9% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Other Stocks to Consider
A few other top-ranked stocks from the same industry are Atmos Energy (ATO - Free Report) , MDU Resources Group (MDU - Free Report) and ONE Gas (OGS - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
ATO’s long-term earnings growth rate is 7.19%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2025 EPS indicates a year-over-year increase of 5.9%.
MDU’s long-term earnings growth rate is 6.46%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS indicates year-over-year growth of 5.6%.
OGS’ long-term earnings growth rate is 5.56%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS implies year-over-year growth of 9.7%.