Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

SPH has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Suburban Propane Partners from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Argus upgraded Suburban Propane Partners to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”.

Suburban Propane Partners Stock Performance

Suburban Propane Partners stock traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $18.97. 21,696 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 127,312. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $20.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.34 and a beta of 0.44. Suburban Propane Partners has a 1 year low of $17.30 and a 1 year high of $20.80.

Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The energy company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $370.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $392.00 million. Suburban Propane Partners had a return on equity of 19.94% and a net margin of 9.30%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Suburban Propane Partners will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Suburban Propane Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were paid a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.9%. Suburban Propane Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.04%.

Institutional Trading of Suburban Propane Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Suburban Propane Partners by 37.4% in the first quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,706 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 5,906 shares during the last quarter. Clearwave Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Suburban Propane Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $396,000. Aristides Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Suburban Propane Partners by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 21,174 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in Suburban Propane Partners by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 22,831 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 6,119 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Suburban Propane Partners by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,871 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 30.94% of the company’s stock.

Suburban Propane Partners Company Profile

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.