Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SPH) Short Interest Update

Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SPH - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,090,000 shares, a decline of 20.5% from the February 29th total of 2,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 408,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.1 days. Approximately 3.4% of the company's shares are short sold.

Suburban Propane Partners Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE SPH traded up $0.21 on Friday, reaching $20.43. The company had a trading volume of 204,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 190,560. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.72. Suburban Propane Partners has a 1-year low of $14.42 and a 1-year high of $22.33. The company's fifty day moving average is $20.12 and its 200-day moving average is $18.00.

Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $365.83 million during the quarter. Suburban Propane Partners had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 17.97%.

Suburban Propane Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 6th were paid a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 5th. Suburban Propane Partners's payout ratio is presently 81.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Suburban Propane Partners news, SVP Neil Scanlon sold 26,000 shares of Suburban Propane Partners stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.33, for a total transaction of $502,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 162,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,133,953.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Michael A. Stivala sold 45,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.36, for a total value of $781,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 288,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,004,731.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Neil Scanlon sold 26,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.33, for a total transaction of $502,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 162,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,133,953.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Suburban Propane Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Suburban Propane Partners by 104,015.1% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 66,827,339 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,014,439,000 after buying an additional 66,763,153 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new stake in Suburban Propane Partners during the 4th quarter worth about $20,323,000. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Suburban Propane Partners by 428.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 390,200 shares of the energy company's stock worth $6,930,000 after buying an additional 316,430 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Suburban Propane Partners by 1,512.5% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 282,785 shares of the energy company's stock worth $5,022,000 after buying an additional 265,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Suburban Propane Partners by 70.5% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 591,483 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $9,026,000 after purchasing an additional 244,537 shares during the period. 30.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SPH. StockNews.com lowered shares of Suburban Propane Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Mizuho lowered shares of Suburban Propane Partners from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $16.00 to $17.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th.

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.