Orin
SPHNYSE·Regulated Gas

Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. SPH

Market cap $1.1BP/E 8.4× trailingGross margin 39.4%
$16.45
−0.03 (−0.15%)live 11:25 ET
52-wk $16.34 – $20.80
Watch
Orin's take
0.55conviction · moderate
Refreshed 1 Sep · take v3. A new filing or a print queues the next refresh.

Suburban Propane trades at a steep discount to regulated-gas peers (P/E 8.9x vs. 22.3x median, EV/EBITDA 9.0x vs. 14.2x) and FY2025 showed recovery with EPS of $1.62 and net income growth of 43.7%, but the most recent Q3 FY2026 loss widened to -$0.26 per share against a -$0.15 estimate as warmer weather and higher costs pressured propane volumes. Free cash flow improved modestly to $114.3M in FY2025 from $101.2M in FY2024 but remains well below the $196.7M of FY2021, and with $1.33B debt against $599M equity, leverage stays elevated.

The stock sits below both its 50-day ($17.87) and 200-day ($19.09) moving averages, and while the seasonal Q2 FY2026 was strong (EPS $2.06), weather dependence and a deteriorating technical trend keep the risk/reward balanced.

What could go wrong

  • Weather dependence. Warmer winters directly reduce heating-driven propane demand; Q3 FY2026 loss widened on weather and cost pressures per recent news coverage.
  • Leverage. Total debt of $1.33B against equity of $599M as of FY2025 limits financial flexibility and raises sensitivity to interest rates.
  • FCF erosion. Free cash flow has declined from $196.7M in FY2021 to $114.3M in FY2025, a multi-year trend that capex increases ($72.0M in FY2025 vs. $29.9M in FY2021) have exacerbated.
  • Institutional outflows. Smart money fund count fell from 15 (as of 2025-09-30) to 12 (as of 2026-06-30), and the smart money score is near zero at 0.0062.

What would change my mind

FCF stabilization. Full-year FY2026 free cash flow meets or exceeds $120M, reversing the multi-year declinebullish
Debt reduction. Total debt declines below $1.25B, indicating meaningful deleveragingbullish
Warm winter / volume miss. Q4 FY2026 or Q1 FY2027 heating-season EPS falls short of consensus due to above-normal temperaturesbearish
Technical breakdown. Stock closes below $16 on heavy volume, confirming the downtrend below both the 50-day and 200-day moving averagesbearish

Where this comes from: peer_relative · fundamentals FY2025; derived_metrics FY2025 · quarterly_results Q3 FY2026; earnings_surprises 2026-08-06 · fundamentals FY2025, FY2024, FY2021. Orin's read on SPH; not advice.

Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-24 · actual filings

Sept 25Nov 25Jan 26Mar 26May 26Jul 26

50-day average 200-day average · volume below

Largest holders · 13F Q2 2026

Money flow
FilerPositionOf fund
Mirae Asset Global Etfs Holdings$77.4M0.1% of fund
Goldman Sachs Group$27.0M0.0% of fund
Jpmorgan Chase &$25.0M0.0% of fund
Morgan Stanley$10.9M0.0% of fund
Blackstone$7.2M0.0% of fund
Citadel Advisors$2.4M0.0% of fund

17 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows

Insiders, last 24 months: 211 Form 4 filings, net −$6.1M. Of the 50 on hand, 0 were open-market purchases and 2 sales— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.

Ask Orin about SPH

its filings · its transcripts · its numbers

Orin answers questions about SPH from its filings, transcripts and numbers — with the source behind every claim. Your own desk starts with 3 free days, card required.

Start 3 free days →

Where it trades

· Utilities
MetricNowOwn medianSector
P/E8.4×—25.9×
EV/EBITDA8.8×——
P/S0.78×——
P/B1.5×——
What the price assumes

-2.5%

free-cash-flow growth every year for 10 years, discounted at 10%, is what today’s price implies — starting from $0.1B of trailing free cash flow. It is an assumption the market is making, not a forecast Orin is making.

What Wall Street published

16 firms · 2026-09-24
Consensus target

$21

$17 – $25 · +28% against today's price

How they rate it
  • 4 buy or overweight
  • 7 hold
  • 5 underweight or sell

The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.

Against the companies it is compared to

median P/E 20.3× of 3 peers
CompanyMarket capP/EEV/EBITDAGrossNetROE
SPHSuburban Propane Partners, L.P.$1B8.4×8.8×39.4%9.4%19%
HTOH2O America$3B21.7×14.0×56.5%12.9%6%
MSEXMiddlesex Water Company$997M20.3×14.6×43.6%23.3%10%
NWNNorthwest Natural Holding Company$2B15.3×9.6×45.2%9.7%8%

The median is of the 3 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 58.7% below it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.

What it has traded at

P/E by fiscal year
FY14 28.6×FY25 11.3×

What its sector has traded at

Utilities
FY14 14.0×FY26 27.4×

Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.

Every estimate on one scale

price $16.45
52-week range$16 – $21
Analyst targets$17 – $25
At sector P/E (26×)$51

The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.