UGI Corporation (UGI) will raise its quarterly dividend by 4 percent to $0.26 per share in 2018. Last year the utility company hiked its dividend by 5.3 percent.

The next dividend is payable July 1, 2018 to shareholders of record as of June 15, 2018 and 2.2% based on the new annual dividend amount of $1.04 per share.

John Walsh, president and chief executive officer of UGI, said, “We are pleased to mark the 31(st) consecutive year of increasing UGI’s dividend. Returning a portion of the company’s earnings to its shareholders, while continuing to invest in growth opportunities, has been a tradition at UGI that has endured through multiple economic cycles and business conditions. This consistency is a testament to the strength and resilience of the company and represents a cornerstone of the value we seek to create for our investors.”

UGI Corporation is a distributor and marketer of energy products and services. Through subsidiaries, UGI operates natural gas and electric utilities in Pennsylvania, distributes propane both domestically and internationally, manages midstream energy and electric generation assets in Pennsylvania, and engages in energy marketing in eleven eastern states, the District of Columbia and internationally in France, Belgium the Netherlands and the UK. UGI, through subsidiaries, is the sole General Partner and owns 26% of AmeriGas Partners, L.P. (APU), the nation's largest retail propane distributor. The company's business segments are: AmeriGas Propane, UGI International, Midstream & Marketing and UGI Utilities.