StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on NuStar Energy (NYSE:NS)

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of NuStar Energy (NYSE:NS) in a research note released on Sunday. The firm issued a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Raymond James reiterated a market perform rating on shares of NuStar Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an underweight rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of NuStar Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded NuStar Energy from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and lifted their price target for the company from $18.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a hold rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up from $20.00) on shares of NuStar Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $19.33.

NuStar Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NuStar Energy stock opened at $22.53 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.76. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.34. NuStar Energy has a 12 month low of $14.70 and a 12 month high of $24.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.73 and a beta of 1.70.

NuStar Energy (NYSE:NS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.11. NuStar Energy had a return on equity of 107.61% and a net margin of 16.75%. The business had revenue of $451.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.69 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that NuStar Energy will post 1.1 EPS for the current year.

NuStar Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a None dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $0.212 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. NuStar Energy’s payout ratio is 225.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NuStar Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in NuStar Energy by 1.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,566,959 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $358,688,000 after purchasing an additional 194,568 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in NuStar Energy by 30.0% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 19,865,418 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $346,453,000 after purchasing an additional 4,586,344 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in NuStar Energy by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,112,629 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $114,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086,994 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in NuStar Energy by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,535,454 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $66,042,000 after purchasing an additional 351,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blackstone Inc. lifted its stake in NuStar Energy by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 3,401,626 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $63,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084,858 shares during the last quarter. 63.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About NuStar Energy

NuStar Energy L.P. engages in the transportation, terminalling, and storage of petroleum products and renewable fuels, and transportation of anhydrous ammonia in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Pipeline, Storage, and Fuels Marketing. The Pipeline segment engages in the transportation of refined products, crude oil, and anhydrous ammonia.