Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

Separately, Argus boosted their price objective on Suburban Propane Partners from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th.

Suburban Propane Partners Stock Down 5.0 %

Shares of NYSE SPH opened at $19.96 on Wednesday. Suburban Propane Partners has a 52-week low of $14.42 and a 52-week high of $22.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.33.

Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The energy company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $498.09 million during the quarter. Suburban Propane Partners had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 18.91%.

Suburban Propane Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 6th. Suburban Propane Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Harold R. Logan, Jr. sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.18, for a total transaction of $57,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,515 shares in the company, valued at $757,897.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Suburban Propane Partners during the 1st quarter worth about $255,000. Blackstone Inc. increased its position in shares of Suburban Propane Partners by 3.0% in the first quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 338,281 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $6,911,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Suburban Propane Partners during the first quarter worth about $295,000. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its position in Suburban Propane Partners by 11.9% during the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 210,111 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,293,000 after purchasing an additional 22,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Suburban Propane Partners by 28.6% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 22,995 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 5,113 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 30.94% of the company’s stock.

About Suburban Propane Partners

Suburban Propane Partners, L.P., through its subsidiaries, engages in the retail marketing and distribution of propane, renewable propane, fuel oil, and refined fuels in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Propane, Fuel Oil and Refined Fuels, Natural Gas and Electricity, and All Other.