Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

SPH has been the topic of several other research reports. Argus upgraded Suburban Propane Partners to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Suburban Propane Partners in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Suburban Propane Partners Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of SPH stock opened at $20.42 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $19.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.26 and a beta of 0.42. Suburban Propane Partners has a fifty-two week low of $17.30 and a fifty-two week high of $20.80.

Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The energy company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $551.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $575.00 million. Suburban Propane Partners had a return on equity of 19.45% and a net margin of 9.57%. Research analysts expect that Suburban Propane Partners will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Suburban Propane Partners

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Suburban Propane Partners by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 15,051,196 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $279,049,000 after buying an additional 724,170 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Suburban Propane Partners by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,177,601 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $77,912,000 after buying an additional 192,154 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Suburban Propane Partners by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,370,534 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $28,795,000 after buying an additional 142,547 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Suburban Propane Partners by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,314,268 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $24,367,000 after buying an additional 61,818 shares during the period. Finally, Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Suburban Propane Partners by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. now owns 1,016,000 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $18,948,000 after buying an additional 200,000 shares during the period. 30.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Suburban Propane Partners

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.