StockNews.com Begins Coverage on NuStar Energy (NYSE:NS)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of NuStar Energy (NYSE:NS) in a research note released on Saturday morning. The firm issued a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on NS. Raymond James reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of NuStar Energy in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of NuStar Energy from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an underweight rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of NuStar Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up previously from $20.00) on shares of NuStar Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $19.43.

NuStar Energy Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:NS opened at $20.59 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 29.00 and a beta of 1.70. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.12. NuStar Energy has a fifty-two week low of $14.70 and a fifty-two week high of $24.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.76.

NuStar Energy (NYSE:NS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $451.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.69 million. NuStar Energy had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 107.61%. NuStar Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NuStar Energy will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

NuStar Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.77%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 6th. NuStar Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 225.35%.

Institutional Trading of NuStar Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of NuStar Energy by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 339,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $6,349,000 after purchasing an additional 14,900 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of NuStar Energy by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,535,454 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $66,042,000 after purchasing an additional 351,608 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of NuStar Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $675,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of NuStar Energy by 298.8% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 526,838 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $9,841,000 after purchasing an additional 394,719 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Multi Strategy Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of NuStar Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $280,000. 63.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NuStar Energy Company Profile

NuStar Energy L.P. engages in the transportation, terminalling, and storage of petroleum products and renewable fuels, and transportation of anhydrous ammonia in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Pipeline, Storage, and Fuels Marketing. The Pipeline segment engages in the transportation of refined products, crude oil, and anhydrous ammonia.