UGI Corporation UGI

Competitive advantage analysis · utilities

Regulated Utilities
Overall moat score
43/100
Developing

About UGI Corporation

UGI Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution, storage, transportation, and marketing of energy products and related services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Utilities, Midstream & Marketing, UGI International, and AmeriGas Propane. It distributes propane to approximately 801 million residential, commercial/industrial, motor fuel, agricultural, and wholesale customers. The company distributes liquefied … Full UGI analysis →

Competitive advantage assessment

Key strengths

  • Investment-Grade Interest Coverage Interest coverage is strong (score 0.69), supporting investment-grade credit metrics.
  • Earning the Allowed ROE Return on equity is strong vs peers (score 0.84), suggesting rate-base growth is translating into earnings.

Key risks

  • Margin Pressure from Rate Cases Regulated margin level is weak (score 0.38), which may signal regulatory headwinds.
  • Cost Discipline Lags Peers Operational cost discipline is weak (score 0.31), dragging on margins.

The dashed ring is the peer median. Defense scores are percentile ranks against peers, so 50 is roughly the typical company in this group.

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Regulatory Franchise

Weak
21

Where UGI ranks in Utilities - Regulated Gas

UGI Corporation ranks #13 of 16 scored companies in Utilities - Regulated Gas by moat score — the top 81%. The widest moat in the group is Atmos Energy Corporation (ATO) at 70/100.

Moat scores for companies ranked near UGI in Utilities - Regulated Gas
# Company Moat score Rating
8 Northwest Natural Holding Compa NWN 54/100 Moderate
9 ONE Gas, Inc. OGS 54/100 Moderate
10 Spire Inc. SR 53/100 Moderate
11 Brookfield Infrastructure Corpo BIPC 49/100 Developing
12 Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. SWX 49/100 Developing
13 UGI Corporation UGI 43/100 Developing
14 OPAL Fuels Inc. OPAL 34/100 Developing
15 Centuri Holdings, Inc. CTRI 33/100 Developing
16 New Fortress Energy Inc. NFE 1/100 Weak

See every Regulated Utilities company ranked by moat score →

How UGI scores on the Regulated Utilities defenses

Regulatory Franchise

Score 21 · 25% of the moat score

The franchise is the moat, granted rather than earned: an exclusive right to serve a territory in exchange for regulated prices and an obligation to supply.

Rate-Base Return Quality

Score 52 · 20% of the moat score

A utility earns an allowed return on the capital invested in its network, the rate base.

Dividend Sustainability

Score 56 · 18% of the moat score

Utilities are owned largely for income, and the dividend is only as safe as the operating cash flow behind it.

Capital Structure Discipline

Score 74 · 17% of the moat score

Regulated utilities carry more debt than almost any other sector, which suits how predictable their revenue is but makes credit quality a core competitive asset.

Operational Efficiency

Score 21 · 12% of the moat score

Efficiency is unusually consequential under regulation.

Essential Service Resilience

Score 51 · 8% of the moat score

Electricity, gas and water are bought in a recession at close to the volume bought in an expansion, which is why utility revenue barely tracks the economic cycle.

How each Regulated Utilities defense is measured, in full →

Understanding UGI's moat

What is UGI Corporation's moat score?

UGI Corporation (UGI) scores 43 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as developing. It ranks #13 of 16 scored companies in Utilities - Regulated Gas, the top 81%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 16 companies in Utilities - Regulated Gas. Its strongest defense is Capital Structure Discipline (74/100) and its weakest is Operational Efficiency (21/100).

How does UGI Corporation compare with other Utilities - Regulated Gas companies?

UGI Corporation ranks #13 of 16 scored companies in Utilities - Regulated Gas by moat score. The widest moat in Utilities - Regulated Gas is Atmos Energy Corporation (ATO) at 70/100. The companies ranked closest are Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (SWX) at 49 just above it and OPAL Fuels Inc. (OPAL) at 34 just below it.

How is the moat score calculated?

Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Regulated Utilities in this case, chosen because the defenses that matter to a bank are not the ones that matter to a software company. Every defense combines several financial signals, and each signal is measured as a percentile against a peer group of 16 companies in Utilities - Regulated Gas. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is UGI Corporation scored with the Regulated Utilities template?

A regulated utility is a legal monopoly whose prices are set by a regulator rather than by a market. It cannot raise prices at will and it cannot be undercut, so most of the usual questions about competitive advantage barely apply. What matters is the quality of the regulatory bargain: whether the company earns the return it is allowed, funds its capital programme cheaply, and sustains the dividend investors own it for.

Which competitive defenses are measured for UGI Corporation?

The Regulated Utilities template measures 6 defenses, and UGI scores: Regulatory Franchise (21), Rate-Base Return Quality (52), Dividend Sustainability (56), Capital Structure Discipline (74), Operational Efficiency (21), Essential Service Resilience (51). Each is scored independently as a percentile against peers, so a company can be strong on one and weak on another — the overall score reflects how those defenses are weighted for this industry.

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