Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SPH) Short Interest Down 18.4% in February

Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SPH) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,110,000 shares, a decline of 18.4% from the February 13th total of 1,360,000 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 265,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Suburban Propane Partners news, SVP Douglas Brinkworth sold 2,000 shares of Suburban Propane Partners 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 159,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,266,777.50. The trade was a 1.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael A. Schueler sold 7,746 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.93, for a total value of $162,123.78. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,013.69. This trade represents a 41.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Suburban Propane Partners

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in Suburban Propane Partners by 7.9% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 10,961 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Suburban Propane Partners during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $270,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Suburban Propane Partners by 31.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 643,916 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $11,552,000 after acquiring an additional 155,360 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in Suburban Propane Partners during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new position in shares of Suburban Propane Partners in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 30.94% of the company’s stock.

Suburban Propane Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPH traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $20.95. The company had a trading volume of 136,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 185,476. The company has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76 and a beta of 0.46. Suburban Propane Partners has a 12-month low of $15.20 and a 12-month high of $22.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $20.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 5.18% and a return on equity of 11.81%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS.

Suburban Propane Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.21%. Suburban Propane Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.