Short Interest in Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SPH) Grows By 27.7%

Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SPH) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 525,287 shares, a growth of 27.7% from the January 15th total of 411,399 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 141,212 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 141,212 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Argus raised Suburban Propane Partners to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Suburban Propane Partners in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Suburban Propane Partners to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Suburban Propane Partners

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Suburban Propane Partners by 3.1% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 14,327,026 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $267,199,000 after acquiring an additional 433,748 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Suburban Propane Partners by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,266,303 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $23,465,000 after purchasing an additional 199,693 shares during the period. Cherokee Insurance Co bought a new stake in shares of Suburban Propane Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at $296,000. ING Groep NV increased its position in shares of Suburban Propane Partners by 49.4% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 118,000 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,201,000 after buying an additional 39,000 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Suburban Propane Partners by 88.1% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 61,748 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,144,000 after buying an additional 28,921 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 30.94% of the company’s stock.

Suburban Propane Partners Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE SPH opened at $20.31 on Wednesday. Suburban Propane Partners has a one year low of $17.30 and a one year high of $22.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.28 and its 200-day moving average is $18.86.

Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The energy company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $370.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $392.00 million. Suburban Propane Partners had a return on equity of 19.94% and a net margin of 9.30%.

Suburban Propane Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were paid a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. Suburban Propane Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.04%.

About Suburban Propane Partners

Suburban Propane Partners L.P. (NYSE: SPH) is a publicly traded master limited partnership headquartered in Whippany, New Jersey, that provides propane and related energy services to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers. As one of the largest propane retailers in the United States, the company delivers propane gas, heating oil, diesel fuel and natural gas throughout its service territories. In addition to fuel distribution, Suburban Propane offers HVAC installation, maintenance and repair services, as well as safety inspections and equipment leasing to support customers’ energy needs.

The company’s core business centers on the delivery of propane for space and water heating, cooking and agricultural applications.