Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SPH) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SPH) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 965,800 shares, a drop of 13.0% from the February 28th total of 1,110,000 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 282,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael A. Schueler sold 7,746 shares of Suburban Propane Partners stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.93, for a total transaction of $162,123.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $233,013.69. This trade represents a 41.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas Brinkworth sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total transaction of $41,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 159,355 shares in the company, valued at $3,266,777.50. This represents a 1.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Suburban Propane Partners

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of Suburban Propane Partners in the 4th quarter valued at about $24,340,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Suburban Propane Partners by 31.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 643,916 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $11,552,000 after buying an additional 155,360 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. boosted its stake in Suburban Propane Partners by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 194,186 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,340,000 after acquiring an additional 18,196 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Suburban Propane Partners during the 4th quarter worth $554,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Suburban Propane Partners during the 4th quarter valued at $3,474,000. Institutional investors own 30.94% of the company’s stock.

Suburban Propane Partners Price Performance

Suburban Propane Partners stock opened at $21.48 on Wednesday. Suburban Propane Partners has a 52 week low of $15.20 and a 52 week high of $22.24. The firm has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.26 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.70. The business’s fifty day moving average is $20.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.23.

Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.46). Suburban Propane Partners had a return on equity of 11.81% and a net margin of 5.18%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.38 EPS.

Suburban Propane Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. Suburban Propane Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 122.64%.

Suburban Propane Partners Company Profile

Suburban Propane Partners, L.P., through its subsidiaries, engages in the retail marketing and distribution of propane, renewable propane, fuel oil, and refined fuels in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Propane, Fuel Oil and Refined Fuels, Natural Gas and Electricity, and All Other.