Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) Stock Crosses Below Fifty Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• SPH shares fell below their 50-day moving average, trading as low as $17.13 versus the $17.23 average, and were reported down 3.6%.
• Analyst opinions were mixed but averaged to a “Moderate Buy”: one firm rated the stock Strong Buy, while two rated it Hold. Its latest quarterly EPS of -$0.26 missed the -$0.15 consensus, although revenue topped estimates.
• Suburban Propane raised its quarterly dividend from $0.325 to $0.35 per share, equivalent to $1.40 annually and an indicated yield of 8.2%.

Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SPH - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $17.23 and traded as low as $17.13. Suburban Propane Partners shares last traded at $17.1650, with a volume of 218,512 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Suburban Propane Partners Trading Down 3.6%

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $17.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.71. The company has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.76, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72.

Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The energy company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $255.00 million. On average, analysts forecast that Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Suburban Propane Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is an increase from Suburban Propane Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.3250. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 3rd. Suburban Propane Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.33%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $50,267.20. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 100,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,777,602.10. This trade represents a 2.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,360 shares of company stock worth $58,710. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Suburban Propane Partners

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Suburban Propane Partners by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 15,353,307 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $252,408,000 after purchasing an additional 633,152 shares during the last quarter. Arrow Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Suburban Propane Partners by 28.1% in the third quarter. Arrow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,463 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 3,172 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Suburban Propane Partners by 16.0% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,434 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 2,409 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in Suburban Propane Partners by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 211,115 shares of the energy company's stock worth $3,471,000 after purchasing an additional 6,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Suburban Propane Partners by 13.8% in the third quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,706 shares of the energy company's stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 30.94% of the company's stock.

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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