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

Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SPH) saw a large growth in short interest in 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 shares of the stock are sold short. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 141,212 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Suburban Propane Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $267,199,000 after acquiring an additional 433,748 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Suburban Propane Partners by 18.7% during 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 period. Cherokee Insurance Co acquired a new stake in Suburban Propane Partners during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $296,000. ING Groep NV lifted its stake in Suburban Propane Partners by 49.4% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 118,000 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,201,000 after buying an additional 39,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Suburban Propane Partners by 88.1% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 61,748 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after buying an additional 28,921 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 30.94% of the company’s stock.

Suburban Propane Partners Stock Performance

NYSE:SPH traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $20.25. The stock had a trading volume of 301,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 158,752. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Suburban Propane Partners has a 1-year low of $17.30 and a 1-year high of $22.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.84.

Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The energy company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $392.00 million.

Suburban Propane Partners Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.