Brokerages Set NuStar Energy L.P. (NYSE:NS) PT at $19.43

NuStar Energy L.P. (NYSE:NS) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.43.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of NuStar Energy in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up from $20.00) on shares of NuStar Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of NuStar Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of NuStar Energy in a research report on Saturday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of NuStar Energy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd.

NuStar Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NS opened at $20.59 on Tuesday. NuStar Energy has a fifty-two week low of $14.70 and a fifty-two week high of $24.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.76. The stock has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.00 and a beta of 1.70.

NuStar Energy (NYSE:NS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.11. NuStar Energy had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 107.61%. The business had revenue of $451.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $433.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that NuStar Energy will post 1.1 EPS for the current year.

NuStar Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 7th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 6th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.77%. NuStar Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 225.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NuStar Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NS. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of NuStar Energy by 6.2% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 48,558 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $700,000 after acquiring an additional 2,827 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in NuStar Energy by 6.4% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 12,661 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in NuStar Energy by 35.9% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 786,680 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $11,344,000 after purchasing an additional 208,000 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV raised its stake in shares of NuStar Energy by 82.8% during the 1st quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 234,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,374,000 after purchasing an additional 106,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of NuStar Energy by 20.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,426,223 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $20,566,000 after purchasing an additional 239,046 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.13% of the company’s stock.

About NuStar Energy

NuStar Energy L.P. engages in the transportation, terminalling, and storage of petroleum products and renewable fuels, and transportation of anhydrous ammonia in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Pipeline, Storage, and Fuels Marketing. The Pipeline segment engages in the transportation of refined products, crude oil, and anhydrous ammonia.