Dividend Champions List: Top 15

6. UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI)

Dividend Yield as of September 24: 6.01%

UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) is an American natural gas and electric power distribution company that offers safe, reliable, and affordable energy to its consumers. The company has achieved one of its strongest year-to-date financial performances in over 140 years, driven by record earnings from its resilient, growth-focused natural gas operations and improved results from UGI International. Efforts to secure sustainable cost savings across the organization have also significantly boosted financial outcomes. Additionally, the company remains focused on stabilizing and optimizing the AmeriGas business by implementing cost-reduction measures and addressing inefficiencies.

In fiscal Q3 2024, UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) reported revenue of $1.4 billion, which fell by 17% from the same period last year. Despite recent challenges, the company remains focused on its long-term objectives, actively addressing the issues by utilizing all available resources. The board has prioritized restructuring and enhancing operations at AmeriGas, with a focus on retaining customers, increasing free cash flow, controlling costs, and maintaining disciplined capital allocation. Additionally, it has outlined a plan to return $1.3 billion to shareholders between fiscal 2024 and 2027.

First Pacific Advisors also mentioned reasons to invest in UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) in its Q1 2024 investor letter. Here is what the firm said:

“UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) owns gas utilities and pipelines in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and the largest propane distribution businesses in the United States and Europe. Despite its disparate parts, UGI has increased consolidated earnings at a relatively steady high- single-digit rate while distributing excess cash through dividends. UGI’s share price has declined because of a combination of poor execution and too much debt at AmeriGas, UGI’s U.S. propane business. On August 30, 2023 UGI announced a review of strategic alternatives. We believe the company’s stock price is attractive at less than 10x earnings, and we have been incrementally adding to the Fund’s position.”

UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) has raised its payouts for 37 years straight. The company currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.01%, as of September 24.

At the end of Q2 2024, 32 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held stakes in UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI), up from 29 in the previous quarter. The consolidated value of these stakes is over $310.6 million. With over 5.3 million shares, Zimmer Partners was the company’s leading stakeholder in Q2.