Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SPH) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.33

Key Points

• Quarterly dividend: Suburban Propane declared a quarterly dividend of $0.325 per share (annualized $1.30), implying a yield of about 6.7%; shareholders of record are May 5 and the payment date is May 12.
• Dividend coverage is adequate but elevated — the current payout ratio is 76.5% and dividends have fallen slightly (about 0.1% annually over three years); analysts expect $1.80 EPS next year, implying a projected payout ratio near 72.2%.
• Fundamentals and sentiment: the company beat the last quarter's EPS estimate ($0.69 vs. $0.53), has received several analyst upgrades to "Strong Buy"/"Buy," and trades around $19.51 with a P/E of ~9.6 and a market cap of about $1.29 billion.

Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SPH - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.325 per share by the energy company on Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 5th.

Suburban Propane Partners has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years. Suburban Propane Partners has a payout ratio of 76.5% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings tumble. Analysts expect Suburban Propane Partners to earn $1.80 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 72.2%.

Suburban Propane Partners Price Performance

SPH traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $19.51. 78,948 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 128,041. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 9.61 and a beta of 0.44. Suburban Propane Partners has a 1-year low of $17.30 and a 1-year high of $20.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The business's 50-day moving average price is $20.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.37.

Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH - Get Free Report) 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. The business had revenue of $370.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $392.00 million. Suburban Propane Partners had a net margin of 9.30% and a return on equity of 19.94%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Suburban Propane Partners will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SPH shares. Argus upgraded shares of Suburban Propane Partners to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Suburban Propane Partners from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Suburban Propane Partners from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Strong Buy".

Suburban Propane Partners Company Profile

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.

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