Is Suburban Propane Partners (SPH) Pricing Reflecting Its Recent Gains And Cash Flow Outlook?
Suburban Propane SPH | 0.00 |
- For investors considering whether Suburban Propane Partners at US$19.88 represents good value today, or whether recent gains may already be reflected in the price, this breakdown focuses on what the current price might imply.
- The stock has returned 2.5% over the past week, 0.8% over the last month, 6.4% year to date and 9.3% over the past year, which provides context before comparing the price to fundamental measures.
- Recent news coverage around the company has primarily focused on its role in the US propane and fuel distribution market and the income appeal of its partnership structure. These themes help frame how investors may be thinking about both the income profile and the risks around the stock price.
- Suburban Propane Partners currently has a valuation score of 5/6. The rest of this article will walk through the standard valuation checks, then conclude with a broader perspective on what that score may mean for you.
Approach 1: Suburban Propane Partners Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis
A Discounted Cash Flow, or DCF, model estimates what a stock might be worth by projecting the cash it could generate in the future and then discounting those cash flows back to today.
For Suburban Propane Partners, the latest twelve month Free Cash Flow is about $66.6 million. Using a 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity model, Simply Wall St projects Free Cash Flow out to 2035, with estimates such as $70.6 million in 2026 and $102.2 million in 2035. Analysts provide forecasts only for the earlier years, and the later figures are extrapolated from those trends.
On this basis, the model arrives at an estimated intrinsic value of $29.33 per unit. Compared with the current price of $19.88, this implies the units trade at a 32.2% discount to the modelled value. This suggests that, on this cash flow view alone, Suburban Propane Partners appears undervalued according to the model.
Result: UNDERVALUED
Our Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis suggests Suburban Propane Partners is undervalued by 32.2%. Track this in your watchlist or portfolio, or discover 44 more high quality undervalued stocks.
Approach 2: Suburban Propane Partners Price vs Earnings
For profitable companies, the P/E ratio is a useful way to think about value because it links what you pay for each unit of earnings to what the business is currently generating. A higher or lower P/E often reflects how the market is weighing growth potential and risk, with higher expected growth or lower perceived risk typically supporting a higher "normal" P/E.
Suburban Propane Partners currently trades on a P/E of 9.89x. This sits below both the Gas Utilities industry average P/E of 14.45x and the peer group average of 14.74x. This indicates the stock is priced lower than many similar companies on current earnings.
Simply Wall St's Fair Ratio for Suburban Propane Partners is 13.79x. This is a proprietary estimate of what a reasonable P/E might be, based on factors such as the partnership's earnings profile, industry, profit margins, market capitalization and company specific risks. Because it adjusts for these fundamentals instead of relying only on broad peer or industry comparisons, the Fair Ratio can be a more tailored benchmark.
Compared with this Fair Ratio of 13.79x, the current P/E of 9.89x is lower. This points to the stock trading below that modelled range.
Result: UNDERVALUED
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Upgrade Your Decision Making: Choose your Suburban Propane Partners Narrative
Earlier it was mentioned that there is an even better way to understand valuation, so Narratives are introduced here as your way to attach a clear story about Suburban Propane Partners to the numbers you care about, by linking your view on its future revenue, earnings and margins to a forecast and then to a Fair Value that you can compare with the current price on Simply Wall St's Community page. Narratives are easy to set up, update automatically when news or earnings arrive, and can differ widely. For example, they may differ between an investor who focuses on renewable fuel growth, regulatory incentives and higher future margins, and another who focuses on propane demand volatility, high leverage and policy risks. This naturally leads to different Fair Values and different conclusions about whether the current price looks attractive or expensive for each of them.
Do you think there's more to the story for Suburban Propane Partners? Head over to our Community to see what others are saying!
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
