Zacks Research Upgrades Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) to "Strong-Buy"

Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on SPH. Argus upgraded Suburban Propane Partners to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Suburban Propane Partners from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Suburban Propane Partners has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy".

Suburban Propane Partners Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:SPH opened at $18.99 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.35 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.87. Suburban Propane Partners has a 1 year low of $17.30 and a 1 year high of $20.80.

Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The energy company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.16. Suburban Propane Partners had a return on equity of 19.94% and a net margin of 9.30%.The firm had revenue of $370.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $392.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Suburban Propane Partners will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SPH. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its position in Suburban Propane Partners by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 15,051,196 shares of the energy company's stock worth $279,049,000 after purchasing an additional 724,170 shares in the last quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. increased its position in Suburban Propane Partners by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. now owns 1,016,000 shares of the energy company's stock worth $18,948,000 after purchasing an additional 200,000 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Suburban Propane Partners by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,177,601 shares of the energy company's stock worth $77,912,000 after purchasing an additional 192,154 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Suburban Propane Partners by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,370,534 shares of the energy company's stock worth $28,795,000 after purchasing an additional 142,547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Suburban Propane Partners during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,278,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 30.94% of the company's stock.

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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