Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. $SPH Stake Boosted by Alps Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Alps Advisors increased its Suburban Propane stake by 4.3%, adding 633,152 shares to hold 15.35 million shares—about 23.02% of the partnership and a position valued at roughly $252.4 million.
• Suburban Propane raised its quarterly dividend to $0.35 per share, or $1.40 annualized, representing an 8.1% yield at the cited share price.
• Quarterly revenue of $261.4 million topped expectations, but adjusted earnings per share of negative $0.26 missed analysts’ consensus estimate of negative $0.15.

Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SPH - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,353,307 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 633,152 shares during the quarter. Suburban Propane Partners makes up approximately 1.1% of Alps Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Alps Advisors Inc. owned about 23.02% of Suburban Propane Partners worth $252,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPH. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Suburban Propane Partners in the first quarter valued at approximately $350,000. Independent Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Suburban Propane Partners in the first quarter valued at about $298,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Suburban Propane Partners by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 72,757 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,433,000 after purchasing an additional 14,908 shares during the last quarter. Arrow Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Suburban Propane Partners during the second quarter worth $193,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Suburban Propane Partners by 13.7% during the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 86,676 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,482,000 after acquiring an additional 10,475 shares during the last quarter. 30.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Suburban Propane Partners Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE SPH opened at $17.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.41. Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. has a 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $20.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.20 and a 200 day moving average of $18.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by ($0.11). Suburban Propane Partners had a return on equity of 18.57% and a net margin of 9.37%. The firm had revenue of $261.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $255.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Suburban Propane Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 3rd will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.1%. This is a boost from Suburban Propane Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.3250. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 3rd. Suburban Propane Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SPH has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Suburban Propane Partners from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. Zacks Research lowered Suburban Propane Partners from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Suburban Propane Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Suburban Propane Partners has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Insider Activity at Suburban Propane Partners

In other Suburban Propane Partners news, VP Bryon Koepke sold 2,848 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.65, for a total value of $50,267.20. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 100,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,777,602.10. This trade represents a 2.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,360 shares of company stock valued at $58,710. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Suburban Propane Partners Company Profile

Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. NYSE: SPH is a master limited partnership that distributes and sells propane and other energy products to residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, and government customers. Its propane business supports heating, cooking, water heating, standby power generation, and vehicle-fueling applications.

The company also markets heating oil, kerosene, diesel fuel, gasoline, natural gas, and electricity in selected markets. Through its service operations, Suburban Propane provides equipment installation, maintenance, and repair services, including support for heating and cooling systems, generators, and related energy equipment.

Suburban Propane traces its roots to 1928 and has expanded through acquisitions and internal growth.

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