Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Separately, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Suburban Propane Partners from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th.

Suburban Propane Partners Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE SPH traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $18.40. The company had a trading volume of 113,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 259,072. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.51. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.44. Suburban Propane Partners has a one year low of $14.42 and a one year high of $22.33.

Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The energy company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter. Suburban Propane Partners had a return on equity of 18.91% and a net margin of 8.02%. The firm had revenue of $498.09 million for the quarter.

Insider Activity at Suburban Propane Partners

In related news, Director Harold R. Logan, Jr. sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.18, for a total transaction of $57,540.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $757,897.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Suburban Propane Partners by 428.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 390,200 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $6,930,000 after purchasing an additional 316,430 shares during the last quarter. Fractal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Suburban Propane Partners by 1,090.4% in the 4th quarter. Fractal Investments LLC now owns 207,425 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,684,000 after buying an additional 190,000 shares during the last quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC acquired a new stake in Suburban Propane Partners during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,679,000. Blackstone Inc. grew its holdings in Suburban Propane Partners by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 328,281 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $5,830,000 after acquiring an additional 70,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its position in Suburban Propane Partners by 12,343.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 31,481 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 31,228 shares during the period. 30.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.