Short Interest in Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SPH) Declines By 17.1%

Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SPH) saw a significant drop in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,360,000 shares, a drop of 17.1% from the January 31st total of 1,640,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 258,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.3 days. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Activity at Suburban Propane Partners

In related news, VP Michael A. Schueler sold 7,746 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Suburban Propane Partners

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in Suburban Propane Partners during the fourth quarter valued at $24,340,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Suburban Propane Partners by 31.8% in the 3rd 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. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Suburban Propane Partners by 7.9% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 10,961 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Wealthstar Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Suburban Propane Partners in the fourth quarter worth $554,000. Finally, Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lifted its position in shares of Suburban Propane Partners by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 194,186 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,340,000 after purchasing an additional 18,196 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 30.94% of the company’s stock.

Suburban Propane Partners Price Performance

SPH stock traded down $0.15 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $20.22. 175,899 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 290,170. Suburban Propane Partners has a 52 week low of $15.20 and a 52 week high of $22.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.08 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) last announced its quarterly 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share.

Suburban Propane Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. Suburban Propane Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 122.64%.

About Suburban Propane Partners

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.