Financial Review: CrossAmerica Partners (NYSE:CAPL) versus Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH)

CrossAmerica Partners (NYSE:CAPL) and Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, profitability, valuation and risk.

Risk and Volatility

CrossAmerica Partners has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Suburban Propane Partners has a beta of 0.16, indicating that its stock price is 84% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

24.1% of CrossAmerica Partners shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.9% of Suburban Propane Partners shares are held by institutional investors. 52.0% of CrossAmerica Partners shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Suburban Propane Partners shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

CrossAmerica Partners pays an annual dividend of $2.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.4%. Suburban Propane Partners pays an annual dividend of $1.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.0%. CrossAmerica Partners pays out 262.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Suburban Propane Partners pays out 90.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for CrossAmerica Partners and Suburban Propane Partners, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CrossAmerica Partners	0	0	0	0	0.00
Suburban Propane Partners	1	0	0	0	1.00

Suburban Propane Partners has a consensus target price of $17.00, indicating a potential downside of 9.04%. Given Suburban Propane Partners’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Suburban Propane Partners is more favorable than CrossAmerica Partners.

Profitability

This table compares CrossAmerica Partners and Suburban Propane Partners’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CrossAmerica Partners	0.80%	-45.12%	2.37%
Suburban Propane Partners	6.65%	15.98%	4.06%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares CrossAmerica Partners and Suburban Propane Partners”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CrossAmerica Partners	$4.10 billion	0.21	$19.89 million	$0.80	27.93
Suburban Propane Partners	$1.33 billion	0.91	$74.17 million	$1.44	12.98

Suburban Propane Partners has lower revenue, but higher earnings than CrossAmerica Partners. Suburban Propane Partners is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CrossAmerica Partners, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Suburban Propane Partners beats CrossAmerica Partners on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CrossAmerica Partners

CrossAmerica Partners LP engages in the wholesale distribution of motor fuels, operation of convenience stores, and ownership and leasing of real estate used in the retail distribution of motor fuels in the United States. It operates in two segments, Wholesale and Retail. The Wholesale segment engages in the wholesale distribution of motor fuels to lessee dealers, independent dealers, commission agents, and company operated retail sites. The Retail segment is involved in the sale of convenience merchandise items; and retail sale of motor fuels at company operated retail sites and retail sites operated by commission agents. CrossAmerica GP LLC operates as the general partner of the company. The company was formerly known as Lehigh Gas Partners LP and changed its name to CrossAmerica Partners LP in October 2014. The company was founded in 1992 and is based in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

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. The Propane segment is involved in the retail distribution of propane for space heating, water heating, cooking, and clothes drying for use as a motor fuel in internal combustion engines to power over-the-road vehicles, forklifts, and stationary engines, as well as to fire furnaces as a cutting gas to the industrial customers; and for tobacco curing, crop drying, poultry brooding, and weed control in the agricultural markets. It also engages in the wholesale distribution of propane to industrial end users. Its Fuel Oil and Refined Fuels segment engages in the retail distribution of fuel oil, diesel, kerosene, and gasoline to residential and commercial customers for use in primarily as a source of heat in homes and buildings. The Natural Gas and Electricity segment markets natural gas and electricity to residential and commercial customers in the deregulated energy markets in New York and Pennsylvania. The All Other segment sells, installs, and services a range of home comfort equipment, including whole-house heating products, air cleaners, humidifiers, and space heaters. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers primarily in the east and west coast regions of the United States, as well as portions of the Midwest region of the United States and Alaska. Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. was founded in 1945 and is based in Whippany, New Jersey.