Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SPH) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 67.4% in September

Key Points

• Short interest in Suburban Propane Partners rose 67.4% to 483,416 shares as of September 30, representing 0.7% of shares outstanding and 2.2 days of average trading volume.
• Analyst sentiment weakened, with multiple firms downgrading the stock to “hold,” although the overall consensus remained “Moderate Buy.”
• SPH offered a quarterly dividend of $0.325 per share, or $1.30 annualized, equating to a 7.6% yield; its latest quarterly earnings missed estimates despite revenue exceeding expectations.

Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SPH - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 483,416 shares, a growth of 67.4% from the September 15th total of 288,818 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 222,562 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Suburban Propane Partners Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of SPH stock opened at $17.19 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $17.22 and a 200 day moving average of $18.27. 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 has a 1-year low of $16.25 and a 1-year high of $20.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Suburban Propane Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th were paid a $0.3250 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.6%. Suburban Propane Partners's payout ratio is presently 66.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Suburban Propane Partners news, VP Bryon Koepke sold 2,848 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.65, for a total transaction 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,360 shares of company stock worth $58,710. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Suburban Propane Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SPH. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Suburban Propane Partners by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 86,676 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,482,000 after buying an additional 10,475 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Suburban Propane Partners by 25.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 72,757 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,433,000 after acquiring an additional 14,908 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC increased its position in Suburban Propane Partners by 4.7% during the second quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC now owns 34,162 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 1,538 shares during the last quarter. Aristides Capital LLC increased its position in Suburban Propane Partners by 14.6% during the first quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 24,262 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 3,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Suburban Propane Partners by 37.4% during the first quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,706 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 5,906 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 30.94% of the company's stock.

Suburban Propane Partners Company Profile

Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. is a publicly traded master limited partnership that distributes and markets energy products and related services in the United States. The company primarily supplies propane for residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural and motor-fuel applications.

Its offerings also include heating oil and other refined fuels, natural gas and electricity, as well as installation, maintenance and repair services for propane systems and heating and cooling equipment.

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