Short Interest in Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SPH) Drops By 29.2%

Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SPH) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 407,022 shares, a decrease of 29.2% from the February 12th total of 574,998 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 145,133 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 145,133 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Suburban Propane Partners by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 14,327,026 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $267,199,000 after buying an additional 433,748 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 199,693 shares during the last quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Suburban Propane Partners by 24.5% in the third quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. now owns 1,016,000 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $18,948,000 after acquiring an additional 200,000 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $2,201,000 after acquiring an additional 39,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Suburban Propane Partners by 88.1% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 61,748 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 28,921 shares during the last quarter. 30.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SPH shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Suburban Propane Partners to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Suburban Propane Partners from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Suburban Propane Partners to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy”.

Suburban Propane Partners Trading Down 0.6%

Suburban Propane Partners stock traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $20.29. 35,278 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 141,530. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99 and a beta of 0.42. Suburban Propane Partners has a 12 month low of $17.30 and a 12 month high of $21.72.

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

Suburban Propane Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 3rd. Suburban Propane Partners’s payout ratio is currently 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.